Third Party? Or, throwing away your vote?

(from Lawrence O'Donnell)

This is O'Donnell at his trenchant best--worth watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9TAZRYO-Tc

"I will not create jobs that kill people"

(via David Corn)

OK, quick question for you--who said it? (hint: it's from 2003) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BpgLYryI8g

on Sylvia Plath's birthday--

(from Roger Ebert)

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/for-sylvia-plath-on-her-birthd.html

Thursday Night Music Club (be Grateful ed.)

not sure why I got to thinking about these guys--might be SF being in the World Series--but some of the best times I had in the '90s was watching the Grateful Dead, whether it was Buckeye Lake or in SE Indiana--wonderful memories.

here they are in SF playing their only true hit song--enjoy.

if you never got the chance to see them, one of the fun things was to listen for their transitions between songs--sometimes, you would catch notes before the band would settle into a tune; other times, it would just catch you by surprise when you realized they were playing a completely new song w/out ever stopping. Made every show unique. Anyway, here's one for the Deadheads:

stumbled on this one--Jerry and Bobby on David Letterman in '87 (pretty sure it's the week before I started my first classes at YSU--Go Penguins!).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH6nKv5SVFQ&feature=related

The Fallacy of Austerity

(via Occupy Chicago)

Mark Blyth of Brown University explains in 5 min why austerity may be good for the household, but it's not so good for the world economy: click below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=go2bVGi0ReE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Guess Who is Buying Our Voting Machines in Ohio?

huh. This one has got to be pretty high on things one shouldn't do, but there you are . . . Ohio, the heart of it all.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/10/20/romney-family-investment-ties-to-voting-machine-company-that-could-decide-the-election-causes-concern/

* * *
and here's a piece from Salon on the topic: http://www.salon.com/2012/10/23/romney_linked_voting_machine_company_to_count_votes_in_ohio/

George McGovern R.I.P.

1972 Democratic Presidential candidate and a true liberal George McGovern has passed away at 90--here's the full obituary from the NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/22/us/politics/george-mcgovern-a-democratic-presidential-nominee-and-liberal-stalwart-dies-at-90.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

Thursday Night Music Club (weekend ed.)

You a Lyle Lovett fan? How about Steve Earle? Guy Clark or Robert Earl Keen?

Well, they all cite this singer/songwriter as a major influence on their careers. Willie, Merle, and Emmylou--just to name a few--have covered his songs. Here's the great Townes Van Zandt in the mid-'70s singing one of his gems (and it just happens to be one of our wedding songs). Enjoy.

here's Steve Earle (who named a son after TVZ) talking about Townes on Studio Q--

and here's Willie and Townes doing "No Lonesome Tune" (the second verse almost always causes a catch in my throat--just beautiful).

Townes solo on the same song:

Yo, Killer, Kill--the attack on educators

been wanting to write this piece for a while, but here someone has done it already (and well)--how conservatives killed liberal education

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/14/conservatives_killed_the_liberal_arts/

* * *
well-supported piece from Daily Kos re the attack on education and educators (most recently seen in the hack job Won't Back Down, a new film that demonizes teachers and teacher unions): here

(just think, the money you save in taxes can pay for your very own pedagogue)

* * *
from Daily Kos, the attack on higher ed professionals (aka "professors"--an insult in some circles)
here

Thursday Night Music Club (Sam Stone ed.)

a little different tonight--from Roger Ebert, his piece on John Prine goes back 42 years. Several videos and a review from 1970, which was the first Prine ever received--good stuff. Enjoy.

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/music/john-prine-an-american-legend.html

Thursday Night Music Club (been gone ed.)

. . . caught these guys the other day on NPR and liked what I heard. Delta Rae is two brothers from the Raleigh area who have expanded the band over the last couple years, with, most notably, two excellent female vocalists. Fun and a little funky and from a literate family (mom used to sing and read mythology to the boys as youngsters)--enjoy.