Democracy Still Coming to the USA?

Surprise rendition of Leonard Cohen classic, plus James Cameron goes nuclear and our usual cartoons.

Jul 01, 2025

Greg Mitchell is the author of more than a dozen books and now writer/director of three award-winning films aired via PBS, including “Atomic Cover-up” and “Memorial Day Massacre.” Now watch trailer for acclaimed 2025 film “The Atomic Bowl” coming to PBS in July. Before all that, he was a longtime editor of the legendary Crawdaddy. You can still subscribe to this newsletter for FREE. Sustain this newsletter by ordering one of his books.

Hoo boy. Trump this morning when asked about maybe deporting Elon after Musk continued to mock the Big Booty Full Bill: "I don't know, we'll have to take a look.…DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon."

Given the State of the Disunion and, as it looks this morning, likely passage of the Big Booty Full Bill, I thought I’d post a Leonard Cohen live version of one of the great songs of our era, “Democracy” (still the hope that it is “coming to the USA”). Then this surprise.

Although I knew Bruce sidekick Clarence Clemons very well, going back to 1972, and that his nephew Jake Clemons replaced him on sax in the E Street Band long ago, I did not know he had a solo career before and after that and that he also played guitar and sang. So imagine my shock when I came upon his version of “Democracy” several years back, one of the few “rock ‘n roll” takes on it, and actually quite exciting. So here it is. You can find a live performance on YouTube as well.

While I’m here, let me link to my friend Tony Scherman’s music-focused Substack, where he interviews Molly Tuttle about her new album, new band, and “new sound.” While now considered a true bluegrass and Americana great, she also has a bit of a rocking background, even was a big Rage fan growing up.

I rarely cross-post from my “other” Substack, which covers nuclear and related issues, including cultural fallout, but I will link today to my piece there yesterday on James Cameron’s longstanding plans to make an epic film about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He gets some digs in on Christopher Nolan along the way, just as I did going back two summers ago, re: “Oppenheimer.”

And as I mention there: My new award-winning film will start streaming, and screening on TV, from PBS on July 12—and now the companion e-book with the same title has been published: “The Atomic Bowl: Football at Ground Zero—and Nuclear Peril Today.” It’s just $5.79 and includes previously unpublished stills and material from the film and much more. Read more here. If you are a writer on film, TV, nuclear issues, or books, you can request a link to view the film now or possibly a copy of the book, via: gregmitch34@gmail.com. Or leave a Comment here. Thanks.