Reps Send Cease and Desist Letter to The Donald Oct 12, 2015 – According to a letter obtained by Hollywood Reporter, Reps from the bad boys from Boston, Aerosmith, sent a “cease and desist” letter to Donald Tump after they learned he used Steven Tyler’s song “Dream On” at a Mobile, Alabama event back on August…
PRESSURE MOUNTING TO CHANGE WASHINGTON REDSKINS NAME AFTER LA CLIPPERS INCIDENT May 23, 2014 – 50 Democratic US Senators, in a show of solidarity and to make a strong statement, sent a letter calling on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to push hard and get the racist name used by the Washington Redskins franchise changed quickly. Sen. Bill…
MAR 20, 2013 – Pearl Jam and MoveOn.org have launched a campaign on the 10th anniversary of the Iraq War, to read and share a letter from an Iraqi vet who had to fight this immoral war. Pearl Jam's spokesperson Nicole Brandenburg said,"Our brave and incredible friend Tomas Young is dying. He asked us to pass along Chris's story along with his letter in the hope that — as uncomfortable as it is — people will take a moment to look death in the eye and remember him and the many others like him as more than a war statistic." The brave Iraqi War veteran is Tomas Young, and he penned a letter to former Vice-President Dick Cheney and former President George W. Bush criticizing the decision to go to war with Iraq, as he lies dying from a bed in hospice care. He writes:
"I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole."
To help out soldiers like him, contact and pressure your representatives to direct more funding to veteran care, and one can also help out by donating to the Wounded Warrior Project which helps out disabled veterans. For more information and to read the letter in full, check out TruthDig.com. Also, check out a great article about Tomas Young by Chris Hedges on TruthDig.com here, , and finally, check out the full MoveOn.org Iraq War campaign here. Pearl Jam's website also shares Tomas' letter, and also points out the 2007 documentary titled, "Body of War" which followed around Tomas Young and can be viewed on Netflix and purchased; read more on Pearl Jam's website here.
Share this letter with your friends, and join the conversation on Justice Through Music's Facebook Page here: http://www.Facebook.com/justicethroughmusic
August 2, 2012 – 4 well-known British musicians have published a letter to The Times in the UK calling for the release of the punk rock band members of Pussy Riot in Russia; among those are Pete Townshend, Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, Jarvis Cocker of the Pulp, and Martha Wainwright. They state in the letter they feel the free speech action at the cathedral was at worst a "breach of the peace", and also say, "Dissent is a right in any democracy and it is entirely disproportionate that they face seven years in jail for what we consider a preposterous charge of 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred'." Many are also now concerned with the treatment of the women who have been held in detention during trial, and there are reports of lack of food, physical abuse, and other mistreatment by the authorities. Read more on WashPo here. (photo credit: Ian McLagan/Wiki)
MAR 30, 2012 – A gay blogger has released a handwritten letter he received from Fiona Apple way back in 2000, when he was a 16 year old student in high school. He met her briefly before a show in 2000, and asked if she could write a thing or two in support of gay people for his work with the gay-straight alliance that he was a member of. Fiona did write a handwritten letter of support and got it to him within days. He remarks about it on his Tumblr blog and wants to finally thank her for "taking time out and being so thoughtful, especially for a lonely, weirdo like me". See the letter on Bill's Tumblr blog here.
(photo credit Sara C/Wiki)