Thursday Night Music Club (remember Uncle Tupelo? ed.)

via No Depression, here is a new one from Son Volt "Hearts and Minds." Enjoy--

http://www.nodepression.com/video/son-volt-hearts-and-minds-full-song

PS--Son Volt's Trace remains firmly on my Desert Island List . . .

Pretend It Was Bush Doing It

whatever could they be referencing? (Glenn Greenwald really wants you to read this piece--"A Bad Idea Gets Worse"):

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Outlaw_In_The_Oval


PS--yeah, it's one of many reasons I voted for Jill Stein . . .

. . . and here's another reason: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/22/bradley-manning-wikileaks-1000-days-detention

Chris Hayes and CPAC, together?!

(via Dave Weigel)

Chris Hayes on accepting CPAC's invitation to speak (or not): http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/02/23/my-answer-to-the-conservative-political-action-conference/

A Poem on Stan the Man (via John Carroll)

Bill Livingston explains--

http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2013/02/poem_about_stan_musial_recalls_1.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

*and this is just the poem itself: http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2013/02/20

The American Dream--a hoax?

(Joe Stiglitz via David Atkins, Hullabaloo)

quick, but worthwhile read--

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/stiglitz-tells-it-like-it-is-by.html

* * *

on a related note, here is another Digby post on Medicaid and other items some folks want to cut so that poor and elderly people can share in the "sacrifice" (support 'em, fellow middle classer!--geez, what a ruse).  http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/makers-and-takers-medicaid-edition.html

Thursday Night Music Club (tempus fugit ed.)

. . . heard of these guys via No Depression--here is Overmountain Men with "Some Place Along the River" (you might recognize the bassist from the Avett Bros.). Bluegrass/Folk doing well lately (e.g., Mumford and Sons). Enjoy--

When is a Person Not a Person?

(from Slate) 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2013/01/25/st_thomas_more_hospital_lawsuit_a_fetus_is_not_a_person_when_we_re_being.html?wpisrc=most_viral

Public School Elixir?

(via Lou Bernieri)

from NYT, the not-so-secret method for fixing our public school:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/opinion/sunday/the-secret-to-fixing-bad-schools.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0

Thursday Night Music Club (diggin' out ed.)

inspired by a Rachel Maddow tweet . . .enjoy.

Ebert on Welles

lots and lots of clips featuring Orson Welles--alpha to omega: 

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/01/orson_welles_young_old_drunk_s_1.html

Why we still need the United States Postal Service

(from Occupy Chicago)

@Tomthunkit: #USPS employs 235,000 Veterans, 40,000 disabled people and doesn't cost taxpayers one dime in taxes. #UniteBlue

* * * 
update: 
Digby weighs in on the decision to cut back services at the USPS (it's about politics and race and gender--surprise!). Here: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/post-office-blues-its-all-about-politics.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

* * *

(via Longreads)

from Esquire:
http://www.esquire.com/print-this/post-office-business-trouble-0213?page=all&src=longreads&utm_source=buffer&buffer_share=e2f59

teachers, firefighters, policemen, sanitation workers, toll booth operators, custodians--some will tell you that our economy is wobbly b/c of the exorbitant cost it takes to pay, provide benefits for these workaday folks. Thoughtful, considered explanation of why we still need the postal service (and why UPS and FedEx agree).

* * *

more public money going to private pockets . . . 

We see this sort of thing more often it seems--from the bank bailouts to the private contractors left in Iraq, etc. Allowing private companies to profit from taxpayer money w/out the usual rules, regulations, and most importantly, oversight.

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-corrupt-privatization-of-our-public.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The Inconvenience of History

from The Daily Kos, the lessons of 1937

* * *

What liberals should do next: http://prospect.org/article/great-societys-next-frontier

* * *

(from Paul Krugman)

"Makers, Takers, Fakers" the always excellent Krugman explains how Republicans really are the party for the rich (which doesn't necessarily mean the Dems are ready for sainthood though): http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/28/opinion/krugman-makers-takers-fakers-.html?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto&_r=0