Today, President Barack Obama announced that Duluth native and Hibbing-raised Bob Dylan will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. MPR has the story.
From the White House press release:
“One of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century, Dylan released his first album in 1962. Known for his rich and poetic lyrics, his work had considerable influence on the civil rights movement of the 1960s and has had significant impact on American culture over the past five decades. He has won 11 Grammys, including a lifetime achievement award. He was named a Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Art et des Lettres and has received a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation. Dylan was awarded the 2009 National Medal of Arts. He has written more than 600 songs, and his songs have been recorded more than 3,000 times by other artists. He continues recording and touring around the world today.”
This gives us something new to celebrate for Dylan Days, May 24-27, in Hibbing, and for the folks at Dylan Fest in Duluth May 18-26. I recently wrote an entry in the string of commentary about Dylan and his Minnesota roots.
Rather weird given that Oswald was convicted for killing Kennedy … and spent all of two nights in jail as punishment.
Now THAT’s Amerika!
Executive Action ——— Get rid of JFK and then push for a war in Vietnam that killed how many thousands of people (???) and left that country as an environmental disaster.