Tonight's episode is in memory of my grade school classmate Vincent Regan who languishes in prison for his part in a brutal rape and murder.  He belongs in prison for the rest of his life, and I don't believe that "there but for fortune go you or I."  But fortune, genetics, and environment have some imponderable roles to play in our behavior.  Thus the liberal point of view represented in tonight's selection deserves consideration.

Phil Ochs (1940-1976) was a major player in the '60s folk scene who died by his own hand in 1976.  Nowadays he is perhaps best remembered as the author of "There But For Fortune."  The haunting beauty of the song comes out best in this Joan Baez rendition.  Here is a live clip of Ochs singing his song in 1967 at The Bitter End.

Show me the prison, show me the jail  
Show me the prisoner whose life has gone stale
And I'll show you young  land with so many reasons why
That there but for fortune,  go you or I

Show me the country where the bombs had to fall
Show me the ruins of the buildings once so tall
And I'll show you young land with so many reasons why
That there but for fortune, go you and I – you and I.