Quote: I say politics is the entertainment branch of industry (Frank Zappa 1987 February)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Government is the entertainment division of the military-industrial complex

The saying above is listed on the WikiQuote Talk page for Frank Zappa
with no citation. Barry Popik recently examined the phrase, and we
communicated off-list on the topic.

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/government_is_the_entertainment_division_of_the_military_industrial_complex/

Zappa did say something similar: "politics is the entertainment branch
of industry" during an interview published in Keyboard magazine in
1987.

Cite: 1987 February, Keyboard, Frank Zappa: Sample This! by Jim Aikin
and Bob Doerschuk, Start Page 58, Quote Page 74, GPI Publications
Cupertino, California. (Verified on paper)

(The first sentence in this excerpt is from the Keyboard magazine interviewer.)

[Begin excerpt]
Perhaps many musicians simply aren't concerned with political issues.

Well, I think it behooves them to have political thoughts, but let me
make a definition clarification here. I say politics is the
entertainment branch of industry, and government is what we need. We
have a diverse population in the United States, with all kinds of
different needs that have to be taken care of. That is the righteous
function of government. Politics is bullshit, basically.
[End excerpt]

There is also an instance in "The Real Frank Zappa Book" by Frank Zappa.
http://bit.ly/WSndSi

Garson

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