The Cowsills on the Howard Stern Show

The year was 1990, the Gulf War in Iraq had transpired and a large segment of Americans were engaged in the sort of saber rattling that always seems to accompany these overseas meddlings. The PR firm Hill & Knowlton had been hired to sell the war to the American public (for the whole sleazy story see http://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy10... ) and Howard Stern was one of those who fell for the hype; to the extent that he and his staff wrote a crass set of lyrics containing every depravity they could conjure describing how they'd like to see the people of Iraq treated. They were the sort of lyrics that would have looked very much at home framed on a wall of Abu Ghraib prison over a decade later.

Enter the Cowsills. When the King of Crass presented the lyrics to the band and requested they sing them to the tune of the song "Hair," the band members were united in giving the idea a thumbs down. And they stood their ground despite Stern's repeated attempts to demean and belittle them into complying.

It's over twenty years later and most Americans have begun to sour on their country's continued overseas encroachments. Looking back on this snapshot of the past it's the Cowsills who appear commendable for refusing to contribute to the mindless bravado that was then in vogue. Howard Stern, on the other hand, doesn't fare so well, appearing to be little more than a herd-following horse's ass.