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Musical Mismatch
Even if the song has nothing to do with American history, one Tchaikovsky expert believes that the song has thematic relevance. "Many people relate to the more subtle musical symbolism of the celebration of triumph over tyranny—or at least over an enemy—even though it relates to another war and different countries," says Roy Guenther, music professor at George Washington University.
Lockhart believes that the song's ancestry only enriches it. "This whole country is founded on assimilations," he says. "We have brought traditions from all over the world and co-opted them into our own traditions."
Mugar thinks it doesn't matter what Americans do or don't really know about the song's origins: it pleases the crowds and makes an already celebratory night in an old colonial city more special. And so, this year again, an Eastern song of a fallen French emperor will accompany a thoroughly American celebration.
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: tkjer @ 07/07/2008 10:06:38 AM
Comment: I think 1812's popularity in American culture owes much to the Quaker Oats TV ads that aired in the 1960s and used one of the the themes while puffed oats and rice were shot out of cannons to the music.
Posted By: Galasso @ 07/07/2008 7:36:32 AM
Comment: This is the wrong venue for this subject. You did the same thing on the article on the GI Bill and posted something totally irrelevant to the article. I think you must be like one of those people who walk around Time Square with signs front and back that say the world is coming to an end. No one reads these long boring posts.
Posted By: Nins @ 07/06/2008 11:24:46 PM
Comment: Did you know that if McCain is elected you will have to pay income tax on the value of the medical insurance that your employer gives you? Worse still, he is offering a tax break for people who pay their own insurance, BUT only $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families.
Let's say you have a family of four. Your insurance policy costs would be at least $1,500-2,500 per month under a self-pay plan, which cost more than employer group plans. So, you pay $18,000 -$30,000 per year for insurance, and you get to deduct only $5,000 of that. If you paid $25,000 for you insurance, you would be out of pocket $20,000 per year. This is FAR WORSE than the current system, where if you are self employed you can deduct 100% of you medical insurance costs.
So, if you're not self employed, you would stick with your Employer's plan. Employer plans for a family of four have a value of $900-$1,500 per month totaling 10,800-$18,000 per year. Surprise! On April 15th, you owe tax on all of that as INCOME to you. Say your bracket is 25%, and the value of your Employer medical plan is $14,000. You will OWE THE IRS an additional $3,500, and that's ON TOP of whatever monthly premium you already pay to your employer for your insurance.
Many analysts say that McCain's new rules would encourage employers to stop offering health benefits. If that happened, then far fewer Americans would be insured than are insured today, because what family of four can afford $18,000-$30,000 out of pocket per year for self-pay health insurance?
Furthermore, McCain's plan does not require insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions of people who self-pay their insurance. People under employer group plans have all of their pre-existing conditions covered. This is a hugely unfair aspect of the current system. Insurance companies can afford to cover the pre-existing conditions of the much larger pool of people with group insurance, but they refuse to pay the pre-existing conditions on the smaller pool of self-pay customers. They have been allowed to price gouge the self-pay customers, which is a form of market manipulation that should be illegal.
So let's say one of your kids had diabetes and you have high blood pressure, then your employer stops offering insurance. You now have to buy your own, but you and your child are INELIGIBLE due to pre-existing conditions. Oh, yeah, they will let you buy the insurance, but you can't use it for any pre-existing condition until you have paid on time every month for two years. And you know what happens at one year and 11 months? You get a letter saying your policy has been cancelled. I have many patients this has happened to.
McCain's plan SUCKS.
It does nothing to help middle class working Americans afford or obtain medical insurance. In fact, it makes the current system WORSE.