Free to be you and me

The National Review has put out its list of the 50 greatest conservative rock songs. But they forgot a few:

• "Kill The Poor," The Dead Kennedys. Clear-cut support for welfare reform. "The sun beams down on a brand new day / No more welfare tax to pay."


• "Whip It," Devo. Corporal punishment should be restored to America's public schools to cure homosexuality and latent Communist leanings. "Try to detect it / It's not too late / To whip it / Whip it good."


• "Tramp The Dirt Down," Elvis Costello and "Stand Down Margaret," the English Beat. Both songs mention Margaret Thatcher, so they must be good. "Stand down" must be a British idiom, like "buck up" only more conservative.


• "West Germany," the Minutemen. With that song title and the band's name, how can it not be a sweeping ode to anti-Communism? At least that's what I assume -- I couldn't find a copy at Sam Goody. Why, it's probably even more patriotic than "Born in the USA!"


• "This Land Is Your Land," Woody Guthrie. A fervent tribute to property rights and creationism ("This land was made for you and me"). Also, Guthrie's guitar supported capital punishment and anti-Fascism.

(Kidding, of course....)