By Rand Paul
Obama acts as though we no longer have a Constitution
Sept. 30: Actress Angie Dickinson is 81. Singer Cissy Houston is 79. Singer Johnny Mathis is 77. Actor Len Cariou is 73. Singer Marilyn McCoo is 69. Singer Sylvia Peterson of The Chiffons is 66. Actor John Finn ("Cold Case") is 60. Guitarist John Lombardo (10,000 Maniacs) is 60. Country singer Deborah Allen is 59. Jazz singer Patrice Rushen is 58. Actor Barry Williams ("The Brady Bunch") is 58. Actress Fran Drescher is 55. Country singer Marty Stuart is 54. Actress Crystal Bernard ("Wings") is 51. Actor Eric Stoltz is 51. Rapper-producer Marley Marl is 50. Country singer Eddie Montgomery of Montgomery Gentry is 49. Singer Trey Anastasio of Phish is 48. Bassist Robby Takac of The Goo Goo Dolls is 48. Actress Monica Bellucci ("The Passion of the Christ," "The Matrix Reloaded") is 48. Actor Tony Hale ("Arrested Development") is 42. Actress Jenna Elfman is 41. Actor Ashley Hamilton is 38. Actress Lacey Chabert is 30. Actor Kieran Culkin is 29. Rapper T-Pain is 28.
If I want my country more authentic, that's because that's what urban aesthetes like. Real hillbillies when they turn on the radio don't want Miranda Lambert pretending she's on "Prairie Home Companion." Real hillbillies want Miranda Lambert as she is on her new album, "Four the Record," complete with echoey production, throbby anthemic vocal tics - and those drums. The point isn't that urban aesthetes are the real custodians of country music, or that the genre's core demographic has stabbed country in the back. Rather, the point is that pinning down country "authenticity" is like nailing Granny's gravy to the wall.
