Thursday Night Music Club (godfather of alternative country ed.)

Do you like Wilco? Do you think Trace by SonVolt is a must for any road trip? Then you've got to watch this: on Conan from '94.

couple observations:
-this is the most Jeff Tweedy has smiled in one sitting since his fifth birthday
-gives you a good sense of why they were called "country punk" when they began
-hard to believe this was Jay Farrar's band (he's on guitar and goes shoe-gazer), not Tweedy's (probably explains why they broke up shortly after this appearance)
-I've seen them several times and Glen Kotche is an amazing drummer;  he can do things most drummers don't even imagine. Having said that, I miss the driving rhythm of Ken Coomer on drums. Power-ful.

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy3WkIfgkSQ&feature=youtu.be

Top 250 Films of All Time

(via Roger Ebert)

-top 250 films on IMDB (is Citizen Kane still top film? click below to find out and to see many changes in the heavily-debated list)
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/big-changes-in-the-imdb-top-25.html

The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, & Blade Runner

(via Roger Ebert)

-(Blade Runner review by one of Ebert's far-flung correspondents)
http://blogs.suntimes.com/foreignc/2012/07/blade-runner.html

-for fans of Christopher Nolan or fans of film in general, here's a smart analysis that is definitely worth your time (it's not quite the what you think re Nolan). From David  Bordwell's Website on Cinema

The Science of Fracking Opposition

(from Alec Baldwin via Huffington Post)

the noted liberal actor brings some strong science to the "debate" (which is sorta like talking about climate change as if it were a debatable topic). You can read it here.

Obama or Romney? check this out--

Want to know how the candidates' policies/budgets will impact you personally? how about the local impact? nationally?

Well, go to politify.com at this link --it's a website designed by some college students at Berkley (I know, I know) that allows you to enter data, and it will then calculate in dollars the impact upon your finances under each candidate. Very cool--check it out.

(more) Paul Ryan--Ohio's own

(from David Frum)

Watching Fehrnstrom/Cutter on CBS. They're debating Medicare. Not jobs. This is why Ryan pick is trouble 

* * * * *
 several good pieces on the GOP VP candidate; the Chait and Lizza pieces, esp, are recognized as key reads--

Chait piece: http://nymag.com/news/features/paul-ryan-2012-5/

Lizza piece: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/06/120806fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all

Joan Walsh: http://www.salon.com/2012/08/12/paul_ryan_randian_poseur/

Greenwald: http://www.salon.com/2012/08/12/the_rights_brittle_heroes/

Ezra Klein: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/12/what-paul-ryans-budget-actually-cuts-and-by-how-much/ 

* * * * *
from Peter Orszag (someone who knows)--why private market can't cut costs in Medicare:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-20/private-market-tooth-fairy-can-t-cut-medicare-cost.html 

Thursday Night Music Club (Expanded Prog Rock ed.)

*interesting piece by David Weigel on Prog Rock (e.g., Yes, King Crimson, ELP, et al.)--here

* * * 

And here is Emerson, Lake, and Palmer playing their "Fanfare for the Common Man" in Olympic Stadium, Montreal. In the winter.

Hogwash! to those who say they were pretentious--enjoy (dig those winter coats)

And just b/c you've been so good about stopping by, here's a little something extra--Yes playing their classic "Roundabout," a song, btw, that I heard 4 times/day every day of high school b/c it served as the title of the student-produced telecommunications program (aka "school announcements"). 

Warning! partisan political ad

(I'm a big fan of Elizabeth Warren and believe she is one of today's political heroes. What follows is a recent piece from her campaign.) * * * I spend a lot of time talking about Scott Brown's voting record -- and Scott Brown doesn't like it one bit. Yesterday, a news reporter asked Scott Brown to respond to my statement that he supports the national Republican agenda. Scott Brown said -- and I quote: "I don't need Professor Warren talking or speaking or commenting on my votes." Sorry, Scott. I am not going to stop talking. If you don't want anyone to talk about your votes, you shouldn't have voted that way. Scott Brown voted against three jobs bills that would have supported 22,000 jobs in Massachusetts. I'm going to keep talking about that. Scott Brown voted to protect tax breaks for oil companies, some of the most profitable companies on the planet, rather than investing in clean energy. I'm going to keep talking about that. Scott Brown voted against the Buffett Rule, legislation that would make sure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share in taxes. I'm going to keep talking about that. Scott Brown voted against equal pay for women. I'm going to keep talking about that. And Scott Brown voted for the Blunt amendment to limit women's access to birth control and cancer screenings. I'm going to keep talking about that. I'm not going to stop talking, and I hope you won't either. Talk to your friends -- call them, Facebook, tweet, send them a fax if you're old fashioned. Talk to the person behind you at the grocery store, and talk to the person pumping gas next to you. Let them know why this race is so important. We can do a lot more than talk about Scott Brown's voting record -- we can hold him accountable for it on Election Day. Thank you for being a part of this, Elizabeth P.S. There is a lot at stake for women in this election. Listen to our new radio ad about the dangerous Republican agenda for women.

Back to School

from the Daily Kos, a history teacher talks about the state of education and reality tv. It hits all the points that come up in any conversation w/ educators; you can read it here.

Burning Down the House: Legitimate Obama Criticisms

(a bit strident--what's new?--but it's in response to a local letter to the editor that got under my skin. sorry). 

Listen, I’m not the biggest fan of the job done by Pres. Obama over the last 3.5 years. I’m strongly considering a vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein, but I just wish his opponents would do at least one of two things: fact-check and/or criticize the president on legitimate matters.

Some recent criticisms:

-What has this President done to curtail anyone’s 2^nd Amendment rights? Nothing.

-Guantanamo opened under the last president, not this one (criticize him for not closing it).

-“Fast and Furious”—an ill-conceived and executed plan that came from law enforcement and had nothing to do with the current president.

-Solyndra. Really? You mean this is the first time a company received government money and didn’t deliver? Gosh, don’t tell the bailed-out banks.

-Trayvon Martin dies; the President consoles. What did I miss?

-Gasoline prices? I remember paying about $4.50/gal during the summer of ’08—before President Obama was elected.

What this president has actually done:

-Ordered the execution of US citizens abroad by drones for alleged crimes—where’s the due-process?

-Not withdrawn from Afghanistan, where our troops continue to die—for what?

-Prosecuted whistleblowers like no other president before him—if we follow the rule of law, the US won’t be embarrassed by the likes of Julian Assange.

-Failed to prosecute anyone for the ’08 collapse of Wall Street that negatively impacted everyone reading this right now.

-Fostered an aggressive foreign policy that has yielded more enemies of the US than before he came to office.

If you want this president out, fine. But help your cause by focusing on things that matter, not talk show fodder. Use at least one other source besides Fox/Rush/Beck, and pressure our representative government to do the People’s will, not the will of some corporate donor pulling the strings. 

Drones--Here, and There

(from Eugene Robinson)

domestic drones serious risk to privacy and more

* * * * * 

Steve Coll in The New Yorker asks:  Is “kill or capture” a policy, or are the words just a screen for politically convenient targeted killings?  

(corollary of Romney and his healthcare and Obama and his due-process-free assassinations???--meant to explore this, but . . . )

"What I built--w/ government help"

(via E.J. Dionne, Jr.)

a "job creator" talks about how government helped him to make it himself--good, sensible read: here

Thursday Night Music Club (Down Under ed.)

When my wife and I were married three years ago, we hired a well-known local dj, who did a very nice job for us (other than using the wrong version of Springsteen's "If I Fall Behind" for our wedding song instead of the preferred live version). The only song he didn't have in his collection was by Australian Bernard Fanning, which I found a bit surprising--thought for sure I would get him on some of the Townes Van Zant.

Well, in case you weren't at the wedding, here's Fanning (first, the obligatory cheesy still of not us and then a shaky, noisy live version of his best-known song)--enjoy.

 

Baby Got Back (redux)

(via Roger Ebert)

whether you love the song or movies, you'll want to check this out (it's a video to Sir Mix-a-lot's song created from 295 films). Fun stuff--http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/baby-got-back-made-from-295-mo.html

Paul Ryan, VP pick for GOP (updated)

If you don't know Paul Ryan, you're about to hear a whole lot about him. It's being reported by numerous sources that Romney will make the announcement official Saturday morning.

He's sorta a bizarro Kennedy--photogenic, smooth in front of crowds, charming, well-spoken, big ideas, etc. But . . . his budget will essentially kill the middle class. Folks will argue that assertion, but if his budget is implemented, Medicare will be replaced by vouchers. He also wants to privatize Social Security--ergo, the death of these popular, successful social safety-net programs and a return to 25% or higher poverty for senior citizens, and the nail in the coffin of the middle class. Ask your parents or grandparents want they think of cuts to Medicare/Social Security.

Oddly, taxes will go up for the middle class, down for the wealthy; and most strikingly, the Ryan budget actually increases our deficit. I'll pull in some links later, but don't fall for the false narratives--know who/what you're voting for.

* * * * *

here is Ezra Klein's immediate take on the Ryan pick.

* * * * *

(from Dave Weigel Twitter)

First prez election with no military vet on either ticket since 1932. 

and

 Also, first-ever GOP ticket with no Protestants.

(from Ezra Klein)

Mitt Romney, announcing Paul Ryan as his VP, attacks Obama for cutting Medicare by $700 billon. Just wow

(from Michael Moore)

Channeling Bush, war supporters/military dodgers Romney & Ryan insult those who served by using battleship as their prop.

(from Keith Olbermann)

Just a reminder that the anti-government Ayn Rand who @RepPaulRyan says inspired him to seek office, ended up on Social Security + Medicare

for Brian :-)

Paul Ryan on Ayn Rand 

* * * * * 

David Corn of Mother Jones explains why the Ryan pick is the one Obama wanted-- here

* * * * * 

In all, 62 percent of the budget cuts proposed by Ryan would come from low-income programs.--

so Robert Reich writes in his piece on the Ryan and Romney ticket; good explanation of the how Ryan's proposals reveal the hard right shift of the Republican party, back to the ugly era of Social Darwinism. You can read the Reich piece here.

* * * * *

 

Thursday Night Music Club (you can't go wrong ed.)

yep, it's Bob. Again. As we enter into high political season, this one just seemed appropriate. Enjoy.

What the heck--here's the Booker T and the MG's version of the same song (btw, just saw that it was the 50th anniversary of the classic "Green Onions"--

Who's Afraid of Grover Norquist?--why taxes, stimulus are good

(from The Washington Spectator)
why raising the minimum wage is a good idea

* * * * *
(from Jared Bernstein)
impacts of public sector jobs


Both pieces convincingly undercut conventional narratives, and not just those from Fox. Austerity won't work; we're not "cutting" our way to growth no matter how much folks try to convince us otherwise. When our economy is as weak as it is today, government acts, interventions are necessary to stimulate the economy--not to replace the private sector, mind you, but to stimulate growth until the private sector gets on board.

The Ron Paul fan club--aka the party of arrested adolescence ("just leave me alone")--will try to convince folks that if government just got out of the way, private industry would explode, ignoring history and empirical evidence.

Show me a government that cuts regulations and spending, I'll show you oil spills, gas explosions, and drilling in state parks and beneath public schools. Oh, yeah, and earthquakes in Youngstown, Ohio. And a disingenuous governor who wants to tax drillers and then reduce income tax for Ohioans a commensurate amount. Sounds good to some--the same folks who obviously didn't attend public schools or drive on public roads or ever have need for the police or the fire department.

(aside--since nobody makes it through the above criteria/filters, does that mean libertarians should more accurately be called "free-riders" or "moochers"? I mean, they want to eliminate a third or more of the government--where do they think these things come above? The job creator fairy? Come on now. Pay your taxes; then you don't have to complain about the lines at the post office, your kids in classes of 40, or the cops taking 30 minutes to get to your house. If you make the Mitt Romneys pay more than 14%--something closer to what you actually pay--then you don't have to cut off your nose to spite your face and receive reduced services just to save yourself 50 bucks a year in taxes.) 

It's really a shameless effort to intertwine the skeptical public in supporting a still unknown, uncertain technology in fracking. In an ironic twist, Republicans are opposing the governor as much as Democrats b/c of the "pledge" to never, ever raise taxes. In the words of George H.W. Bush, "who the hell is Grover Norquist?" 

"The Conservative Case for Obama--Again"

Andrew Sullivan lays out his detailed and supported case that Obama is simply and unequivocally the more conservative candidate.

(btw, it's an argument that has been made in this blog several times by me and others).

PS--I talk politics with a lot of people, folks from many walks of life and political leanings. I have yet to meet a pro-Romney voter. Seriously. I've met several who say they will vote for Romney, but it's always in negation of Pres. Obama, not as an enthusiastic supporter. Doesn't mean Romney can't win--it's just . . .  interesting.

Might be a good year to explore some third-party candidates . . . Jill Stein, where are you?

chick-fil-a challenge

I really don't want to weigh in on the latest culture wars--No one thinks or reflects. No one considers the other side; the whole thing is full of empty, meaningless gestures that pander to their intended audience. It's sad and silly. 

But I will say that liberals would do well to remember the speech by Michael Douglas in The American President:

"You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. 

If the owner of a business wants to contribute to whatever group, it is his prerogative. It's called free speech.

He is not free, however, from repercussions, which is what liberals and dumb mayors are seeking to do w/ official sanctions and restrictions rather than the organic decisions and actions of the citizenry. Instead, much like an album that gets slapped w/ a parental advisory or when a religious group denounces or boycotts an "offensive" movie, its success far exceeds what it should have. It's free publicity. Liberals have now helped the chick-fil-a owner make and contribute more money to extremist groups than if they just kept their mouths shut and ate at the local diner (which is where I'm going w/ this piece).

Personally, I find the anti-gay stance repellent and would like to see a society where nobody held these views in the first place. The bigotry is outdated and offensive to all citizens. But you don't legislate morality, as much as some groups would like to. Our country, since the days of the puritans--persecuted themselves before coming to America--has routinely oppressed minorities. Groups that are marginalized then return the favor when they gain power. So, if your religious group is anti-gay, that's your choice, but an attempt to codify an anti-gay agenda is as oppressive and discriminatory as what was once done to your group.

OK, that is more than I wanted to say on the matter; our time can be better spent. You want a better solution? Dine locally. Better yet, shop locally. Roughly 25% more of the dollars spent at a local business stay in the community rather than back to far-flung corporate offices.

Don't boycott, don't protest; don't grandstand, don't stay stuck in the dark ages. Support your local economy and buy locally. Let the pundits and others spit into the wind and declare the "winner" of this round of the culture wars. 

Buckeye Bread Loaf--pass it on

To some of you reading, this won't make a bit of sense. That's OK. But to those of you who have attended the Bread Loaf School of English, especially as a Fellow (Ohio Riser, I'm looking at you), you'll want to check out our new website here.

Drop in, post something, reconnect, and, most importantly, pass it on. David Wandera and Beverly Moss have scheduled our Fall meeting for October 13, 2012, in Columbus, and it would be great to have you all there. Shoot us an email if you have any questions (or suggestions).

Buckeye Bread Loaf--a little bit of the Mountain here in Ohio

And now, for something completely different . . .

(via Ezra Klein)

why mustaches are healthy (seriously); you can read the scintillating findings here.

Thursday Night Music Club (old friends ed.)

Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown is somebody I used to listen to a lot--the band stuff is really good all the way through; his solo stuff is hit/miss but the early solo (Heartbreaker, Gold) is worth seeking out. I could give you the back story on Ryan--it reads like a great classic rock 'n roll soap opera--but if you like this song you'll be reading more about him, I'm assuming.

btw, female vocalist Caitlin Cary has Ohio roots, so there's that . . . 

Not quite sure what made me pick him this week (I think some Whiskeytown came up on my Pandora), but I'm glad I did--good stuff. Enjoy--

Discovered!--unpublished F. Scott Fitzgerald short story

(from The New Yorker): Thank You for the Light

Guns don't Kill People

Garance Franke-Ruta ‏@thegarance

Of “world's 23 wealthiest countries, 80% of gun deaths are American deaths & 87% of kids killed by guns are American.” http://yhoo.it/O6Fbxh

* * * * *
Matt ‏@mister_limey

It says a lot about the US that when a man in a costume with a gun kills people, they ban costumes.

Retweeted by Roger Ebert

* * * * * 

E.J. Dionne, Jr. offers his take on Democrats, gun control, and Aurora. you can read it here 

* * * * * 

(from National Review Online--I know!) Robert Verbruggen offers his assistance to dumb, liberal journalists. here