Alright. I take issue with this. I know you're not surprised.

Barbara Mace, the Chancellor of Liverpool, England, has started a movement to wipe out street names that have anything to do with the slave trade. James Penny was a 18th Century Slave ship owner, and Penny Lane was named after him.

Barbara, don't fuck with me.

That street is sacred to some of us, and reminds us of a time when there were Octopus's gardens, and Strawberry Fields, and Lucy was in the sky, with diamonds. I don't think anyone remembers Penny Lane for the actual James Penny, where it derived it's moniker. Yes, I think we all agree that slavery was pretty freakin' awful. An abysmal, offensive and horrible part of history. I see your point, Barbara...we'd all like to erase the terrible parts of our respective nations' pasts, and only see ourselves as blissful peacekeepers of freedom, and of all that is right and just. That's not how it happened. Those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. What happened to that? C'mon, I'm not going to sign a petition to condone Josef Mengele Boulevard, or an Adolf Hitler Avenue. But Penny Lane? C'mon.

It's not about James Penny. It's about a barber shop, and about a nurse selling poppies, and a fireman. A simpler time.

Don't take away Penny Lane, Barb. It belongs to all of us who still believe. What's in a name? I'll tell you. Everything.

P.S. I just checked msnbc.com and as of this evening, they are NOT changing the street name Penny Lane, due to an overwhelming outpouring of reverence for the Beatles. Now I feel like a real tool, but the premise is the same. This will come up again. And I'm ready.