DBT Week in Review - 3/25 - 3/31

Hola, Y'all! Cheers! Pip-pip, motherfuckers!! The band is currently puttin' that sweet lovin' on everbody in Europe. Lucky hounds. We've had some fine reports coming from across the pond:

UPDATE: From the ABAAC Blog!

Another preorder bonus!
Starting April 4th at Tower Records and a bunch of cool indie retailers this bonus disc will be given away free to fans who pre-order the DBT A Blessing and A Curse CD. Supplies are limited, once they are gone, they are gone, never to be made again. CD features 2 outtakes from the new album as well as two live tracks.
CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE LIST OF STORES

Roel, from the Yahoo Group, took some video of Zip City. Check it out.

Over on Ninebullets, Rober took some pics from one of the concerts in Spain. Check 'em out.

Also from Ninebullets, Anders let's us know that ABAAC has charted in Norway. Very cool!

I was checking out some of the websites of the venues in Europe. This blurb caught my eye and gave me a chuckle. Southern colloquialisms just don't translate, do they? Check out the bold.

Voor iedereen die muziek uit de jaren 70, van Lynyrd Skynyrd via de Stones naar Neil Young & Crazy Horse, een warm hart toedraagt: Drive-By Truckers! Southern rock, prachtige americana en alt.country tearjerkers. Voor muziek en meer info, zie:

David Kelly from the Yahoo Group hooks up with this review from the UK Times. Dang, them Brits sure do write all nice and flowery:

Pop: Get those motors running - Music - Times Online

"In any contemplation of the Southern rock idiom, it’s hard to dispel images of head-down, half-hour guitar solos and drunk bikers yelling “Freebird”. It’s high time the genre had a makeover, and Drive-By Truckers are putting a whole new face on their sweet home Alabama."
...
The most recent personnel switch came after Decoration Day. At odds with the ingrained masculinity of the musical dialect, the bassist Shonna Tucker was voted into the group. “Shonna joining was one of the easiest things that’s ever happened,” says Hood. “She’s a phenomenal musician and a really cool person. As far as having a girl in the band goes, I think we’ve always had girls in the band.” His eyes glint. “We just finally got one who’s female.”

Back here in the states Robson Bassett writes his first DBT review and has it published in his law school's paper. Good on ya, Robson.

“Alabama A__ Whuppin”

"The Drive-By Truckers (Truckers, DBT) rolled into my hometown of Charlottesville on a late Wednesday night in February to open a quick southeast tour before heading to Europe and releasing their sixth studio album A Blessing and a Curse. I had some concern over the fact that the venue was Starr Hill, only because of the possibility that my ears would still be bleeding the next morning during Environmental Law due to the three-guitar attack of Jason Isbell, Mike Cooley and Patterson Hood. The band apparently had different plans as they decided to bring their good friend John Neff (Athens, GA musician extraordinaire) to join them for the entire show on pedal steel guitar. While some may compare the three-guitar attack DBT to Southern rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd, the four-guitar presence turned into an all-out blitzkrieg assault throughout most of the night."

American's have always done well bastardizing certain types of music. Check out this evil spawn mash-up of DBT and Vanilla Ice. Control + F the page and search for Vanilla Ice.

To veer away from DBT a bit, I want to highlight a post from Bill in Iowa on the Yahoo Group regarding the passing of Buck Owen. I, too, grew up watching Hee-Haw. "I searched the world over and thought I found true love. But you found another and 'prrrrrp' you were gone. Where oh where are you tonight...." Cheers to Bill for the following post and cheers to Buck Owen:

Damn, damn, damn.

When I was a younger man I had different answers for the question “What’s your favorite band?”. When I was 18 it was Guns ‘n’ Roses, when I was 25 it was the Black Crowes, when I was 30 it was the Truckers. But in the last couple of years I’ve started hearing the words “Buck Owens and the Buckaroos” come out of my mouth.

I grew up with my parents’ Buck records, especially the live Carnegie Hall album and the Tiger By The Tail album, both of which are available on excellent expanded CD re-issues through Sundazed. Buck and Don and the boyz were equal parts rock and twang…and those suits! I’ve been picking up old Buck LPs in record bins for a while (just scored Greatest Hits Vol. 2 the other night) and it’s amazing how exciting his “country” music was during the Beatles’ “rock” era. It was very, very similar, right down to Ringo’s vocal take on “Act Naturally”.

I also grew up with Hee Haw, although it’s sad that all of the obits popping up on the web (Buck died today) are calling him “Hee Haw co-host Buck Owens”. His career with the Buckaroos preceding Hee Haw was more popular than people give it credit (more than 20 #1 country hits, according to the article I was just reading), and I must admit that I prefer the hip Buck to the pickin’ and grinnin’ Buck. Still, especially if you were a farm kid, Buck playing that red, white and blue guitar on TV every weekend was something to look forward to. I recently rented a couple of the Hee Haw DVDs from Netflix, and that show freakin’ rocked musically (when they weren’t doing 3rd-rate Laugh-In skits).

Anyway, I never did get to see him live, and maybe it was better that I didn’t see him as a senior citizen and still think of his live shows as the 60’s versions (complete with screaming teen fans and Don Rich’s twangin’ Tele).

Bill in Iowa"

While we're off topic, Elvis, The King's home if finally getting National Landmark status:

"MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The home of the King of Rock 'n' Roll joined the homes of presidents past and present in becoming a National Historic Landmark Monday.

Graceland, where Elvis Presley died in 1977, joins the White House, Mount Vernon and Monticello in receiving the country's highest designation for historic properties".

Here's a "Mad Rambling" from Patterson regarding the King:

MEMPHIS, EGYPT (revisited)

(All this water into wine stuff is fine, but what I really need right now is
A big long piece of steel to whomp someone with)

Two summers ago, on the anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, I wrote an essay about the parallels between Rock and Roll and religion (as well as how the boom stand killed Elvis). It was, like much of my writing at the time, a messy affair, full of big, half-baked ideas. I threw a lot against the wall with little care for what stuck and what didn't.
.....
Now it all seems like two lifetimes ago. A few weeks later, 9/11 occurred and suddenly everything (and everyone) changed. The next day, we got our new CDs back from the pressing plant and hit the road. (What else could we do?) I look back at what I was writing at the time and can't fathom the reckless disregard with which I could throw together words. I'm not altogether happy with the change, but as I said, everything did change and that's just the way it is.

I have always been drawn to the impossible dream. Rock and Roll was always the only way I could come up with to do what I always knew had to be done. Rock and Roll turned a poor boy from Mississippi into a messiah that is still worshipped decades after his death. His music had long since ceased to be relevant by the later years of his life, yet it somehow seems so damned important all these years later. Elvis is the grandest example in our lifetime, but certainly not close to the only one and that storyline still resonates and fascinates me all these years later.

"Rock and Roll as a path to redemption and a way out".
In my youth, it was Bruce Springsteen and how he escaped New Jersey to fame and fortune. The story we told with our album Southern Rock Opera tells basically the same story, only using the mythology surrounding Lynyrd Skynyrd to do it. (Their ascent into the pantheon of fame was even more unlikely and their all-too literal descent the stuff of fine literature). When I was sixteen, I ran away from home to see Springsteen in Starkville MS. The show changed my life and showed me just what was possible if you believed enough and Rocked with all your might.

Rock and Roll did not abandon Elvis. Elvis abandoned Rock and Roll.
Elvis lost sight of what made him holy.
Who can blame him?
Many preachers have led their flock away from God in his name (for the
Money, glory, power, to want to be Jesus or even God himself)

Elvis didn't die for anyone's sins but his own, but his most damning sin seemed to me to be his losing himself. He no longer drove the machine and got too lost to watch over the drivers shoulder. He got fat and bloated on his own money, fame, and legend. He began using boom stands because they freed him of the earthly constraints of having to deal with the reality of his own size and gravity.
That long straight piece of steel that holds your microphone in place is the straight and narrow that binds you to real world.
If you get too fat, you knock it over and it reminds you to lose some of
that lardass and eat a few less fried banana sandwiches.
And if some over zealous fanatic rushes the stage, it's a very handy weapon
(so have no FEAR MOTHERFUCKER)

No, my friend, Rock and Roll didn't kill Elvis.
In the end neither did The Colonel, Priscilla, or RCA or Hollywood or Vegas.
God didn't exactly kill Jesus either, I guess.
(If Jesus had a straight stand, he might have been able to fight his way off
that damned mountain).

Now it's two years later. Elvis and Ronnie are still dead (like Franco I guess).
Springsteen is still out preaching the word. He seems like a likable fella and although I'm no longer passionate about his newer music, he's still one of the finest preachers in the redemptive powers of Rock and Roll and I applaud him for surviving and continuing. The last thing the world needs now is another dead Rock Star.

We're back out on the road, touring behind another new album. I plan on saying that on a fairly regular basis for the rest of my life and I have every intention of that being a very long time.

Rock will set you free
and freedom can kill ya quicker than anything, but is life worth living without it?

See you at The Rock Show,
Patterson Hood

(August 13, 2003 - just south of Vancouver BC. Adapted from (and using parts of) original "Memphis Egypt" essay, 8/16/2001)

Good Stuff!

Below are the answers to the 10 trivia questions put forth by Jason Isbell from last week's WIR post:

1. This one's a two-parter: Who sang that oh so dramatic backup part on Christopher Cross' big-tittied hit "Ride Like the Wind?" AND who played the guitar solo?

Michael McDonald and Eric Johnson

2. Who wrote "Achy Breaky Heart?" His daughter's hot.

Don Von Tress

3. Which of the nominees for NuSkin male lotion's 2003 "man of the year" wrote the 90's crossover smash "I Swear?"

Gary Baker

4. Mister Mister had two big hits. One was "Take These Broken Wings." What was the name of the other one (spelling counts)?

"Kyrie Eleison"

5. What the hell does that mean? (See #4)

Lord (God) Go with me (Us). It's Latin.

6. What was the name of the abominable record Cher made in Muscle Shoals (actually Sheffield)?

3614 Jackson Highway

7. Which STYX tour introduced the world to Mr. Roboto?

Killroy Was Here

8. Name the record by Glass Tiger that featured such hits as "Someday" and "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)."

Thin Red Line

9. Another two parter: Which bad song by America was sampled in which guilty pleasure by Janet Jackson?

"Ventura Highway" and "Someone To Call My Lover"

10. In the Meat Loaf classic "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" what exactly would he not do?

"Be screwin' around" (Cheatin' on his woman).

Heh, The Gary Baker Band use to play my sister's high school lead outs.

Below are some music trivia questions from Patterson:

Patterson: How about this:

1. What was the B side to Terry Jacks' immortal one hit wonder "Season in the Sun"?

2. What 80's-90's alternative rock band covered it as a bonus track on an album (their third I believe)?

3. Who had the original #1 hit with "Cats in the Cradle"?

4. How did he die?

5. Wayne Newton had a top ten single the summer of 1972. (Around the same time as Heart of Gold and Horse With No Name). Name it.

6. What was the only notable 70's hard rock hit to have yodelling in it? The band was called Focus.

7. Who produced Grand Funk Railroad's smash hits "We're An American Band" and "Loco-Motion"?

8. Who produced Meat Loaf's Bat Out Of Hell Album?

9. Who was an unlikely duet partner on Bing Crosby's final X-mas special?

10. What X-mas TV tradition did Claudine Longette's murder inditement end?

That's it for this week. Leave a comment and enjoy "The Rock Shows"!

Late for Church

Reverend Bob is preachin' out thunder
Fire and brimstone pouring down

The fake War on Christmas wasn't enough. The Repugs had to rally the troops for mid term elections so now we have the fake War on Christians. Absolute bullshit.

Look, I was born and raised a Southern Baptist. I was "called" to be baptized when I was 11 or 12 not by Jesus, but by my own curiosity of what the baptismal chamber was like. Hey, you got to wear a sweet white robe and be dunked in a big bath tub in front of the entire congregation. I was a ham and I saw it as an opportunity to be in front of an audience. But, ever since I can remember, I always thought that there was something bogus about religion. I asked a lot of questions to my parents and to my Sunday school teacher and got a lot of unsatisfying answers. At, heart, I have been a nontheist my entire life. I completely called bullshit on Christianity when I was 14 and have never looked backed.

Religion and government don't mix. Look at the horror that every theocracy throughout history has created.

Bible is the word of god? Not. There exist over 5,000 manuscripts of the Bible. Not one is an original. Not one of those 5,000 manuscripts is alike and there are over 100,000 discrepancies in textual content between those 5,000 manuscripts. If the Bible is the word of god then god is a stoner.

It's simple. No war on Christians exists. There is a war being waged by Christians to push their moral code on everyone and for the Bible to replace the Constitution.

You may be saying to yourself, "But this is unfair of you to write, JPW. I'm a Christian. I vote Democratic. I believe in progressive causes. I support the TRUE teachings of Jesus. Why are you lumping me in with the rest". Here's why. I DON'T HEAR YOUR VOICE. And until I hear your voice then you're all the same. Some of that has to do with the media focusing on the Falwell's and the Dobson's and the rest of the loonies. Some of that has to do with the good Christians not taking on the evil elements of your religion. BUT, there is some change a foot and you can read about it in the article below called "We Want the Airwaves". So all you good Christians stop " Waitin' for 12 o'clock to come round" and get involved.

But first let's examine some Religious Right hypocrisy:

Reverend Bob is pointin' his finger
Scalia Flippin' the Italian Bird IN CHURCH:

Amid a growing national controversy about the gesture U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia made Sunday at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross, the freelance photographer who captured the moment has come forward with the picture.
...
“The judge paused for a second, then looked directly into my lens and said, ‘To my critics, I say, ‘Vaffanculo,’ ” punctuating the comment by flicking his right hand out from under his chin, Smith said.
The Italian phrase means “(expletive) you.” "

Mom and Dad follow every last word...
'What's really scary about the 'new religious right' and their politics'

"My fear is that some political candidates and leaders have these right-wing people of faith in their pockets and that those who are sincere in their faith are being boondoggled. If they suspect what these leaders and candidates are really up to and yet still acquiesce by offering them their pulpits and unquestioning loyalty, God help them."

All this hollerin' makes me wonder
Does a whispered prayer get heard?
We Want the Airwaves:

"In what will probably be the second-most controversial segment to the new GISS campaign after the 'Ejector' ad itself (more on that presently), the UCC announced today that it has teamed up with Media Matters to fight the pronounced tilt toward the Religious Right in mainstream media news:"

A recent study completed by Media Matters concludes what we have long known to be true: the networks favor the right-wing extremists.

In this particular study, an analysis of guests on Sunday Morning talk shows revealed a pronounced bias in the percentage of conservative pundits versus progressives. In fact, the report shows that the networks frequently allow these shows to be used to attacks progressives and their ideas.

I can tell they think I'm a sinner...

So we've come full circle and are back to blaming Saddam. Jeez, just like an addict that can't take responsibility.

Bush blames Iraq's instability on Hussein

Hear them whisper while I'm watching my shoes....
Insight:

"The Bush administration, amid record budget deficits, has been spending huge amounts on advertising and public relations contracts to counter a hostile media environment.

The administration spent $1.62 billion on advertising and public relations contracts over two and a half years. Most of the money was spent by the Defense Department amid its efforts to recruit soldiers for the war in Afghanistan and Iraq.

'The extent of the Bush administration's propaganda effort is unprecedented and disturbing,' said Rep. George Miller, California Democrat."

Back is soft but the seat is hard
Why can't they get it right?
Bush Was a Failed President From the Start:

"After the shocking assaults on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Zogby showed Bush's popularity soaring to 82% positive and only 17% negative. The Washington Post-Gallup poll had Bush even higher in the eighties. From then on -- really until this year -- Bush maintained a plus rating with the American people, almost solely tied to 9/11. Like America's mayor, Rudy Guiliani, who on 9/10 had been one of the most unpopular leaders ever of New York City, Bush was elevated to political nobility by Bin Laden kamikazes.

The image of Bush fighting back - something, by the way, which any American president would have had to have done under the same circumstances or he certainly would have faced impeachment - allowed Bush to catapult over the failures of his first eight months, and push forward an agenda that, under other conditions, might have been rejected as reactionary. And, in 2002, despite a threadbare domestic record, Bush was able to increase Republican margins in the Congressional elections. In 2003, of course, he launched his war on Iraq, despite outright opposition by the UN, his inability to find weapons of mass destruction, his lack of success in connecting Hussein to Al Qaeda, the looting and mayhem that followed Saddham's downfall, and the insurgency that sprung up thereafter."

The Dems have presented a Security plan for America. You need to check it out:
Real Security - Democrats.gov

House and Senate Democrats unveiled the comprehensive Democratic plan to protect America today: Real Security. Despite their tough talk, Republican's incompetence has made America less safe. Democrats offer tough and smart policies to provide the real security that Americans expect and demand.

Democrats.senate.gov - Senator Harry Reid, Democratic Leader

The Democratic Record on Real Security

Vs.

The Bush Republican Record of Dangerous Incompetence

Recently, Karl Rove explained how Republicans approach homeland security as essentially a political issue. Unfortunately for Mr. Rove, the Republican record on security doesn't support his political rhetoric. Time and again, it's the Democratic Party that has proven to be the party that has learned the lessons of 9/11. Democrats' legislative priorities have been shaped by the recognition that the fundamental issue facing the country today is the need to bolster America's real security. Bush Republicans have displayed a dangerous incompetence. America can do better.

Finally! I hate Barry Bonds:
MLB to Announce Steroid Investigation:

"Major League Baseball plans today to announce the start of a formal investigation into allegations of steroid use by San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds and other former and current players, according to a source with knowledge of those plans."

#@!&!!

Democrats Offer National Security Platform:

"Congressional Democrats vow to provide U.S. agents with the resources to hunt down Osama bin Laden and ensure a 'responsible redeployment of U.S. forces' from Iraq in 2006 in a national security policy statement House and Senate Democratic leaders were announcing Wednesday.

'We need a new direction on national security, and leaders with policies that are tough and smart. That is what Democrats offer,' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in remarks prepared for delivery Wednesday."

Ted Turner blasts the media, Bush -- and himself
I love me some Papa Ted.

Turner, 67, said he regrets losing control of CNN, which he founded in 1980, to Time Warner Inc. after its merger with America Online.

"I had a sacred trust there and I let it go," Turner said. "I thought there was no way they could phase me out, and I was wrong."
.....
Bush lacks a true understanding of the world, Turner said.

"We had a president of the United States who had been out of the country but once before he was elected," he said.

He added, "And this guy has his finger on the nuclear trigger, too -- reformed alcoholic, nothing wrong with that."

Republicans Split Over Religion's Growing Role in Their Party:
You reap what you sow, motherfuckers.

Republicans, who have profited politically from emphasizing faith and family values, are now finding those same issues dividing the party.

Economic conservatives and secular Republicans complain their message is being drowned out by Christian conservatives preoccupied with banning abortion and gay marriage and limiting stem-cell research.

On the other side, ``values'' advocates say they have provided the party with crucial support, particularly in 2004, when they mobilized religious conservatives to go to the polls to help re-elect President George W. Bush.

Such concerns are turning long-simmering Republican tensions over the role of religious conservatives into an election-year split in a party already strained by differences on the Iraq war, immigration and government spending.

``There is a great deal of concern about this seeming attempt to couch everything in religious terms,'' said Christine Todd Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey. ``We're not a narrow-minded nation, and at least some of the people trying to define the Republican Party are coming off that way.''"

No He Didn't:
What did the 5 fingers say to the face? SLAP!!

Rep. William Lacy Clay Jr. of Missouri called for the removal of our troops from Iraq. That is not all he said

'President Bush took this country to war by choice, not because we had to fight but because he wanted a fight,' Clay said, according to a text of the speech he gave Monday at St. Louis Community College at Meramec in Kirkwood.

'I have a question for President Bush,' said Clay, who voted against the resolution authorizing Bush to go to war in Iraq. 'If you really believe that the war that you started in Iraq is a fight to defeat terrorism and to defend our freedoms, why haven't your girls enlisted?'"

20 More Questions for President Bush:

"1.) Is the limit of your imagination replacing Andy Card with Josh Bolten?

2.) Why, during your 2004 campaign did you assure voters, 'any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires... a court order' when you had been specifically authorizing wiretapping without court orders for nearly two years?

3.) Why was your attorney general unable to provide a response beyond 'Um, none come to mind, Senator' to back up your 2006 State of the Union claim regarding warrantless wiretaps that 'previous presidents have used the same constitutional authority I have and federal courts have approved the use of that authority'?

4.) The GOP crowd that was going to 'restore honor and integrity' to Washington has instead given us Abramoff, DeLay, Libby, Frist, Santorum, Safavian, and Claude Allen. If this is what integrity looks like, can you blame those who'd like to bring back Oval Office blow jobs?

5.) Speaking of Claude Allen, your top domestic policy advisor, he abruptly resigned on Feb. 9 and was arrested a month later over a petty shoplifting scam (despite being in the highest White House pay bracket). In 2003 you nominated him as a judge to the 4th Circuit US Court of Appeals - a nomination that the Democrats scuttled. Knowing what you know now, was this the right decision?

6.) In 2003, when you said 'I want to know the truth' about who leaked Valerie Plame's identity, did you ask your staff what they knew? If you didn't ask them, why not?

7.) Do you consider Dick Cheney to be a successful vice president? Why do you think so few Americans approve of the job he's doing?

8.) Why did it take less than two weeks after the unveiling of Janet Jackson's right boob at the Super Bowl before the GOP Congress held hearings on the matter, but 14 months before you caved to public pressure and allowed the 9/11 Commission to be formed? Had the 9/11 widows not pressured you to form the commission, would you ever have done it?

9.) Why wasn't your testimony to the 9/11 commission under oath? Why did you insist on having Dick Cheney in the room with you?

10.) With the domestic war on terror underfunded and understaffed, do you consider it a smart allocation of resources to have the FBI form a squad exclusively devoted to cracking down on sexually explicit material involving consenting adults?

11.) After Katrina, you said 'I take responsibility' for the failure of the government. Is this the only disaster during your five years in office for which you take responsibility?

12.) In its post-Katrina rebuilding efforts, your administration, according to the Wall Street Journal, 'is importing many of the contract practices blamed for spending abuses in Iraq,' including contracts awarded without competitive bidding and cost-plus provisions 'that guarantee contractors a certain profit regardless of how much they spend.' So what's the thinking on this one, Mr. President -- 'If at first you don't succeed...'?

13.) You came into office pledging to be 'a uniter, not a divider.' What grade would you give yourself on that?

14.) Given your public pronouncements about your extensive Bible reading, what are your thoughts on Jesus' teachings about the poor?

15.) Why did Vice President Cheney fight tooth and nail to keep the records of his energy task force secret? What is he hiding?

16.) Given that we now know the heads of oil companies attended the vice president's energy task force meetings, and given that they denied it when they appeared before Congress, would you say they lied to Congress? Is this why Senator Ted Stevens was so adamant that they not be sworn in before their testimony?

17.) Would you have sent your daughters to a school whose science department taught that the earth is 10,000 years old?

18.) You appointed Karen Hughes, a woman who speaks no Arabic or Farsi, and who has no education in Middle East matters, to be our goodwill ambassador to the Muslim world. If another country appointed a goodwill ambassador to the United States who spoke no English and knew nothing about our country, how do you think that person would do?

19.) Why do you think the United States is so much more unpopular in virtually every country in the world since you took office? Are being respected and being 'strong' mutually exclusive?

20.) Would you say you are someone who is able learn from his mistakes?"

Imperial overreach is accelerating the global decline of America:

"The disastrous foreign policies of the US have left it more isolated than ever, and China is standing by to take over"

Americans See, Hear More Profanity:
Fuck yeah!

"Nearly three-quarters of Americans questioned last week — 74 percent — said they encounter profanity in public frequently or occasionally, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Two-thirds said they think people swear more than they did 20 years ago. And as for, well, the gold standard of foul words, a healthy 64 percent said they use the F-word — ranging from several times a day (8 percent) to a few times a year (15 percent)."

Beer Spa

Jimmy Carter on Daily Kos:
Jimmy Carter wrote his first diary on Daily Kos the other day. In that dairy he requested questions from the readers. He responded to those questions in another diary a few days later. Progressive politicians are realizing where their audience is. We're not on CNN or CBS. Dailykos has more "viewership" than those 2 combined. It is a scared new world and those of us who are working to change it back to a brave new world are online. Check out Peanut laying some logic on you:

"Early this month, I had lunch in Plains with a family from Panama City, and a high school girl asked me why she should be a Democrat. I asked her a series of questions that all bloggers should use in discussions: Do you prefer peace or war? Do favor tax breaks for the richest Americans or working families? Would you rather destroy the environment or protect it? Do you approve the torture of prisoners? Do you think our government should secretly spy on your family? Do you think we should abandon every nuclear arms control agreement negotiated since Dwight Eisenhower was president? Do you approve of your part of the national debt now being $28,000 and increasing by $300 each month? Do you think we should meld religion and government? She gave me the Democratic answer to all the questions, and I believe that most Americans will agree, no matter if their state is red or blue."

The Founders Never Imagined a Bush Administration
This article is from George Mason University's History News Network. You got to give it up for George Mason even though they did screw my brackets

Relying on legal opinions from Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and Professor John Yoo, then working in the White House, Bush has insisted that there can be no limits to the power of the commander-in-chief in time of war. More recently the president has claimed that laws relating to domestic spying and the torture of detainees do not apply to him. His interpretation has produced a devilish conundrum.

President Bush has given Commander-in-Chief Bush unlimited wartime authority. But the "war on terror" is more a metaphor than a fact. Terrorism is a method, not an ideology; terrorists are criminals, not warriors. No peace treaty can possibly bring an end to the fight against far-flung terrorists. The emergency powers of the president during this "war" can now extend indefinitely, at the pleasure of the president and at great threat to the liberties and rights guaranteed us under the Constitution.

Iraq Reporters Hit Back at Claims They Are Biased on War:
"Should we blame the government? Or blame so-ci-ety? No! Blame the Media, Blame the Media, With their beady little lies, And flappin' heads so full of lies. Blame the Media, Blame the Media, We must blame them and cause a fuss, Before someone thinks of blaming uuuuuuuuuus!

"Appearing on NBC, its Baghdad correspondent Richard Engel said, “Most Iraqis I speak to say, ‘Actually most reporters get it wrong--it’s the situation on the ground is actually worse than the images we project on television.’'

He added: “We’ll see more and more reports coming out by the media explaining how they are covering the war and I think the Bush administration overplayed their hand in trying to blame their problems on the media.”"

Andrew Card Resigns as White House Chief of Staff:
Resigned? Bullshit. About to be indicted? Probably. "Shake-up in staff"? Try "window-dressing". I'm sure this new guy will turn everything around for the preznit.

"White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. announced his resignation this morning after nearly 5 1/2 years as President Bush's top aide. Bush said Card will be replaced by Joshua B. Bolten, the director of the Office of Management and Budget."

World's first beer health spa:
If you guys need me I'll be in the Czech Repulic.... forever.

"The world's first beer health centre has opened in the cellar of a family brewery in the Czech Republic.

Beer baths, beer massages and beer cosmetics are on offer at the spa at the Chodovar Family brewery in Chodova Plana.

The converted cellars include seven huge Victorian style baths where guests can swim in beer while enjoying a pint poured at a bathside bar."

Mmmm... Bacon

Our Loonies versus their loonies:
Excellent read.

Whenever I get into a discussion with a Republican over how nasty conservatives have become over the past 15 years, I often get the 'well you have Michael Moore' refrain.

Only problem is, yes we do have Michael Moore, and when did he ever suggest blacks are genetically inferior to whites (Republican David Duke), that Supreme Court justices should be assassinated (Republican Ann Coulter), and when was he ever indicted (Tom Delay, Jack Abramoff, Scooter Libby, and oh so many more)?

He hasn't, because Michael Moore is someone conservatives simply disagree with, and that makes him per se hateful. Kind of like the Dixie Chicks, except they have boobs too, which made it an even bigger crime in Republican circles that they had an opinion."

Daou Report:
Remember when "Meet the Press" tortured those dudes in Abu Ghraib? Or when Dan Rather killed 69 Iraqis yesterday? This is Bush's world. It is all the media's fault even though he has them all in his back pocket. Fucking spoiled brat.

Bush Launches Massive Shock & Awe Offensive... Against U.S. Media: As the Bush administration's Iraq fiasco spirals further out of control, a new phase of the war has begun: an all-out assault on the American media for simply reporting the news. The scope and audacity of this attack is breathtaking: on cue, a bevy of administration officials and rightwing talking heads has begun taking direct aim at the press, accusing reporters of fabricating the Iraq crisis."

Bush shuns Patriot Act requirement:
Bush disregarding laws?! I'm shocked! Maybe we all need to pray harder.

"WASHINGTON -- When President Bush signed the reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act this month, he included an addendum saying that he did not feel obliged to obey requirements that he inform Congress about how the FBI was using the act's expanded police powers"

Candidates Cool to Bush, but Not His Money:
Whores. Prostitutes. It is time for public funding of campaigns. Money is not free speech.

"WASHINGTON - Many worried Republicans on the ballot in November have been pushing away from the White House, not wanting to be dragged under by President Bush's sinking approval ratings and growing anxiety over Iraq. That doesn't mean they're also fleeing his cash offerings, however."

Schools Cut Back Subjects to Push Reading and Math:
Georgie doesn't want anybody to be smarter than he is.

"SACRAMENTO — Thousands of schools across the nation are responding to the reading and math testing requirements laid out in No Child Left Behind, President Bush's signature education law, by reducing class time spent on other subjects and, for some low-proficiency students, eliminating it."

Pursuing Healthier Bacon Through Biotech:
Science we can all love.

"A microscopic worm may be the key to heart-friendly bacon.

Geneticists have mixed DNA from the roundworm C. elegans and pigs to produce swine with significant amounts of omega-3 fatty acids — the kind believed to stave off heart disease.

DBT Week in Review - 3/17- 3-24

Today is Patterson's Birthday! Happy Birthday, PHood!!!

A Blessing and a Curse was released on March 20 in Europe.

If you can't wait til April 18th click here to order.

First European Review:

Hot, Blue and Righteous, March 11, 2006

Reviewer: bucephalas67 from Manchester, England

This band, this album, are the reason you will have your faith restored in live music. If you havent seen them live I suggest you do so at the first opportunity.Raw, emotional music of this genre just doesnt get any better. Their last album "The Dirty south" showcased a band at their creative zenith, but fortunately for ourselves they have excelled themselves again. A remarkable set of songs, beautifully crafted, contemporary yet authentic, with a production as raw as a hogs ass, how can you put into words what will be considered in the future to be a classic album with absolutely no peers ?.After hearing this cd you will be in love with the band and WILL gladly die for them. Forget about those end of year lists,I shit you not. All bets are off, this is album of the year already and were only just into March.

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame: "By Patterson Hood,

The danger of becoming a mythological musical artist is that people spend more time talking about the mythology than listening to the music. Truly, few bands have ever been as beloved and successful -- and mythological -- as Lynyrd Skynyrd, yet here it is, 2006, and they're only now being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- nearly a decade after their eligibility."

"Amy" from the Yahoo group turns us on to this DBT article:
Drive-By Truckers Ready To Rock On Tour

Jason Isbell sends us a note regarding a friend with MS:

Hey everybody. Hope you're all doing well, and I appreciate the support ya'll are showing while we're getting ready to release the new record. We'll be in your town soon. I wanted to mention something dear to my heart and maybe round up some help for some good people. A friend of mine from here in North Alabama has Multiple Sclerosis and he's heading up a team to participate in a n MS walk-a- thon soon. If you know anyone with this disease, it can be a real sonofabitch. If you have any extra laying around, please make a donation to their cause by going to the website below. Thanks.

Jason Isbell

DBTJenn hooks us up with a great DBT contest:

Okay, on to the GREAT news: the new DBT record, A Blessing and a Curse, is going on pre-sale on the DBT Merch site TODAY. And get this - every pre-order comes with an entry into a little contest we're having, where YOU can WIN A DATE WITH DBT!

That's right! One lucky winner will get to take 3 of their friends with them to a show of their choice (transportation to and from show is winner's responsibility). Once at the show, you will be given backstage passes and get to meet and hang out with the band, get stuff signed, and generally get the rock star treatment for the evening! Isn't that sweet? Oh, it'll be so much fun if you win!

10 runner ups will receive a copy of the booklet from A Blessing And A Curse autographed by the band. Not too shabby... now go pre-order that album!

That's all I've got for now, folks. Keep it between the lines...

-Jenn

While checking out what folks are saying on the various boards about DBT I found these folks who have been chatting about the band for a few years now.

A Stones Board set aside some time to talk about DBT, too.

It ain't Carl Perkins' but someone in Florence just sold Johnny Cash's Caddy. (Mr. Phillips didn't but if for him, though).

Car-selling blues

"Killian is a huge Johnny Cash fan, but he decided to put the Cadillac up for auction on the heels of the success of the 'Walk the Line' movie, which is about Cash's life."

I'm always interested on how people are finding my blog. Here are some of the searched terms used over the past week that directed folks to AAW. People sure are looking to get laid in Alabama:

the dollar lyrics by jimmy johnson
brown tree snake repetition of guam power authority
get laid huntsville
lyrics gravity's gone cooley
mrs. claus' kimono
lauderdale county republican party of alabama
great car dealer war
alabama landmarks with pictures
fame is curse or blessing
solar tax break alabama
dbt tours
get laid today in florence alabama
thank god for the tva lyrics
reynold's wrap zip city
how alabama got its name

Donelle Cooley from the Yahoo Board turns us on to a poet/singer/artist named John Trudell. He's recently released a documentary.

If you didn't know it already, Patterson and Cooley have a love child. Here is a picture of Papa Patterson, home from a hard days work, and doting mama Cooley takin' care of the new baby:

Off course, Wild Auntie Shonna comes over and proceeds to drink the baby:

Drink the baby! Don't drink the baby!! Actually, the picture of the band above came from a Georgia Music Magazine article. Mark Merritt was kind enough to send me a copy of the magazine and that picture is one of my favorites. The article is out of sight, too! Thanks, Mark!

The Pa Patterson and Ma Cooley pic came from a back door site. Tune in next week and I'll show you were it is. It's got a ton of great archive DBT stuff such as this classic Jason Isbell quiz. Feel free to try your hand at the answers in the comments:

Jason: Okay kids... Let's see how much you know about bad music and my own personal guilty pleasures. 10 questions and you gotta get 'em all right to win. Whoever does it first gets a one-of-a-kind redneck hat with a damn largemouth bass cross-stitched on the front. No joke. Here we go:

1. This one's a two-parter: Who sang that oh so dramatic backup part on Christopher Cross' big-tittied hit "Ride Like the Wind?" AND who played the guitar solo?

2. Who wrote "Achy Breaky Heart?" His daughter's hot.

3. Which of the nominees for NuSkin male lotion's 2003 "man of the year" wrote the 90's crossover smash "I Swear?"

4. Mister Mister had two big hits. One was "Take These Broken Wings." What was the name of the other one (spelling counts)?

5. What the hell does that mean? (See #4)

6. What was the name of the abominable record Cher made in Muscle Shoals (actually Sheffield)?

7. Which STYX tour introduced the world to Mr. Roboto?

8. Name the record by Glass Tiger that featured such hits as "Someday" and "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)."

9. Another two parter: Which bad song by America was sampled in which guilty pleasure by Janet Jackson?

10. In the Meat Loaf classic "I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)" what exactly would he not do?

That's it for this week, kiddies. Tune in next Friday.

Friday Fluff

"The only moral abortion is MY abortion":

"I've had several cases over the years in which the anti-abortion patient had rationalized in one way or another that her case was the only exception, but the one that really made an impression was the college senior who was the president of her campus Right-to-Life organization, meaning that she had worked very hard in that organization for several years. As I was completing her procedure, I asked what she planned to do about her high office in the RTL organization. Her response was a wide-eyed, 'You're not going to tell them, are you!?' When assured that I was not, she breathed a sigh of relief, explaining how important that position was to her and how she wouldn't want this to interfere with it.' (Physician, Texas)"

Bill Moyers: 'A time for heresy':

"Many Baptists are fundamentalists; they believe in the absolute inerrancy of the Bible and the divine right of preachers to tell you what it means. They also believe in the separation of church and state only if they cannot control both. The only way to cooperate with fundamentalists, it has been said, is to obey them. "

Science News Article:

"OSLO (Reuters) - Humans are responsible for the worst spate of extinctions since the dinosaurs and must make unprecedented extra efforts to reach a goal of slowing losses by 2010, a U.N. report said on Monday.

Habitats ranging from coral reefs to tropical rainforests face mounting threats, the Secretariat of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity said in the report, issued at the start of a March 20-31 U.N. meeting in Curitiba, Brazil.

'In effect, we are currently responsible for the sixth major extinction event in the history of earth, and the greatest since the dinosaurs disappeared, 65 million years ago,' said the 92-page Global Biodiversity Outlook 2 report."

Be your own coach

"Sometimes I think we keep going for the Coach CEO or the Coach President not so much because we think we have found our true leader but because we don't trust ourselves to make the hard decisions, and accept ultimate accountability. It's easier to support the guy who promises to turn the company around or lead the country to victory - and then to fire him when he fails - than it is to take the job of being your own coach. That means taking the responsibility of whipping yourself into shape, making a game plan and sending yourself out to do your personal best, win or lose."

Cross-Dressing Septuagenarian In Lewd Bust
Not good.

Don't Get Drunk in a Bar in Texas

Unseen Al Gore Campaign video
This is must see internet TV. Apparently, Gore is a big film fan and particularly likes Being John Malkovich directed by Spike Jonz. During the 2000 election Al invited Spike to hang around the family homestead in Tennessee and to bring a camera a long. Word has it that the footage was to be used as campaign material. It never happened, supposedly because Al's "consultants" shelved it. I guess they were afraid that it showed him as a huma. Dumb fucks. Anyway, watch the video then answer the question that so many have used to praise Bush. Who would you rather have a beer with?

Check out this link for a movement underway to get Gore in the race in 2008. I hope he waits until the last minute. We need Gore:

DRAFT GORE: AL GORE FOR PRESIDENT 2008

Russ Never Sleeps:
Another good Dem.

“Both Democratic politicians and pundits are afraid,” Mr. Feingold said on March 21 by phone. He was between constituent tours during the week’s Congressional recess. “Time and again, they allow themselves to be intimidated from taking a strong stand against the administration.”"
....
From all this self-administered Senatorial gagging came only new legislation proposed by Senator Mike DeWine (R.-Ohio) that would essentially go back and retrospectively legalize the abuses of power under the N.S.A. program. “I wanted to see the headline then,” Mr. Feingold joked: “‘Republican Senate Proposes Law to Make Illegal Program Legal.’

If you remember the shit storm that occurred a few years back when the Dixie Chicks expressed their opposition to Bush, then you'll be happy to know that they've come out with their first new album since said shit storm. In true D.C. fashion they come out swinging. Natalie Maines don't take no shit off anyone. Remember the FUTK t-shirt she wore at concerts in response to Toby Keith's dumb redneck Republican ass bashing them? Well, they've released their first single off the ablum and it is a goodie. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for a well crafted pop song. But when you put a big FUCK YOU in the lyrics to the Bush cultist, it just gives me goosebumps. Click on the link and the tune will start playing automatically. Here's something good that came out of Texas:

Dixie Chicks

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby
With no regrets and I don’t mind sayin’
It’s a sad sad story when a mother will teach her
Daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger
And how in the world can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

I’m not ready to make nice
I’m not ready to back down
I’m still mad as hell and
I don’t have time to go round and round and round
It’s too late to make it right
I probably wouldn’t if I could
‘Cause I’m mad as hell
Can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should

And now for something sucky about Texas. I can't even comment on the stupidity of this. These theocrats in charge are taking away ALL of your freedoms. If you want to know the direction the country is really heading I suggest you get a copy of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and give it a read:

Texas arresting people in bars for being drunk

"SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - Texas has begun sending undercover agents into bars to arrest drinkers for being drunk, a spokeswoman for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission said on Wednesday."

Water - Marketed brands no better than city stuff in taste test
Here we have the topic of bottle water. I've always thought that you had to be a damn fool to buy bottled water. It's not any safer than tap water. If you dig bottled water then I'd like to talk to you about some oxygen you might be interested in. I'll sell it to you dirt cheap.

"Water, a well-known beverage favored by billions, was once again fooling the whole world Tuesday in San Francisco.

In another of those blind tastings designed to demonstrate what suckers water drinkers have become, ordinary tap water faced off against its high-priced bottled brethren in head-to-head combat.

The idea, according to the earnest young organizers of the first-ever Tap Water Challenge, was to see if people could tell tap water from the $1-a-bottle stuff.

The answer was, they couldn't."

Letter to the Editor - Southern Style

TimesDaily.com:

"Patriotic opposition"

To the editor:

When someone speaks their dislike for George W. Bush, the disagreeing audience immediately focuses on the soldiers in Iraq, saying you are unpatriotic and hurting the soldiers. These are just false deductions.

Mr. Underwood even accuses Mr. Osborne (in letters to the editor) of hating this country because he speaks out against Bush. These are the same arguments conservatives used against James Otis, the first American to speak out against the king of England. James Otis coined the phrase, 'A man's house is his castle.' He was arguing that the colonies should be free of British troops' intrusion into their homes. Otis would be horrified at how our government is now intruding into our homes.

Just because I hate what Bush is doing to my country does not mean I hate my country or I am unpatriotic. Just the opposite; it means I am paying attention to what is happening to my country and that I care.

Frederick Douglass summed it up when he said, ' Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want rain without the thunder and lighting. They want the ocean without the roar of its many waters.'

When we can no longer speak out, then we are no longer free; and just because a person may not like Bush, the conclusion is not that he does not like this country or that he does not support troops in whatever it is they are ordered by the president to do. I don't think one soldier was wrong in going to Iraq, I think Bush was wrong in ordering them to go there.

I also believe it is my duty to point out mistakes by my government. Had Otis, Samuel Adams and the other American patriots not spoken out against an oppressive government, where would we be today? Actually, it is not the person who speaks out when they believe the government is wrong who is unpatriotic, it is the person who says nothing and permits his freedoms to be taken away.

Peggy *****

Hackleburg

Monsters WILL Eat You!

2 Years After Soldier's Death, Family's Battle Is With Army
What was Agassi's line from the Canon Rebel commercials? Image is everything. Well, for Dear Leader and the gang, that is the extent of their government policy. Image is everything. Truth is for pussies, policy is for commies, programs that lift people up are for terriorist, governing is, well, what the Democrats do. For the Repugs it's all about image and PR. They don't want you to look behind the curtain because nobody is there.

For me, this is one of the sicker plays by the Bush Admin. Tillman WAS a hero for what he did before he got shot in the head 3 times by his own men. But for Rummy to lie about how he got killed in order to pump up the jingo here in the states and to put a pretty spin on it is about as disgusting as it gets. The Rethugs really support our troops, don't they. Pieces of shit.

"'All I asked for is what happened to my son, and it has been lie after lie after lie,' said Mr. Tillman, explaining that he believed the matter should remain 'between me and the military' but that he had grown too troubled to keep silent."

Foreign flicks depict god-awful Americans / On-screen they are bullies, rapists and mindless killers:
Winning those hearts and minds. We've become the Drago in Rocky IV. We've become Hans Gruber in Die Hard. We're no longer the Good Guys. Bush has transformed us into the Bad Guys. Nice.

"The film in question is 'The Night Baghdad Fell,' which depicts Egyptian obsessions with war, sex and the United States. Wildly anti-American, it has done a brisk business for two months, a long screen life for Egyptian-made films. In 'Night,' Egyptians fret about a U.S. invasion of Egypt and the potential destruction of their capital. Americans are bullies, rapists and mindless killers.

By the way, 'The Night Baghdad Fell' is a comedy."

Daily Kos: State of the Nation:
We've got some serious shame issues to deal with, folks:

"I am ashamed. I am ashamed of this President. Aren't you? After watching his press conference today, a sense of shame overtook me. I'm ashamed that he took to the podium today as if he emptied out a container of laughing gas. I'm ashamed of a President who has the temerity to laugh when asked a question about war. I'm ashamed of the whores of the fourth estate who care more about having the honor of being the butt of one of the President's jokes than about exposing the truth to the American people. I'm ashamed that millions of my fellow Americans are so scared and so desperate for leadership that they believe the President's bullshit."

But those winds of change may be a blown'. There was a special election in my hometown, yesterday. My conservative-ass hometown. This could be quite the bellweather for things to come and I allowed myself to feel the slightest bit of hope this morning.

Welcome to TimesDaily.com:

FLORENCE -- Democrat Tammy Irons bit her fingernails as a poll watcher called into her law office on North Court Street with early results.
...
"Irons became the first woman elected to represent Alabama's House District 1 on Tuesday, defeating Republican William Smith."
....
Turnham said the grass-roots energy in the Irons camp is not often seen in other places.

He also called District 1 a microcosm of the state and an indication of hard times ahead for state Republicans.

Finally today, and this is the best, (I did a beer spit take last night when I read this).

Man's Toddler Son Wanders Into Strip Club:

A Kansas man was arrested at a Tulsa strip club after police say his toddler son wandered from an unlocked car into the club over the weekend.

The toddler told police that his father told him to stay in the car, and that if he left it, "monsters would eat him," reports indicate.

Whenever I leave a kid in the car to go check out some titties, I give him a 40 of the good stuff (some of dat O.E.) so he'll fall asleep. This guy is an amateur. Monster stories? Kids aren't afraid of monsters anymore. You've got to get your 6 year old passed out drunk if you want to go tuck some dollars in some t-backs without going home first. Geez.

Leprechauns, Bitches!

The New New Gore:
If he runs, he's my man. Oh, and for all you fools who made fun of him for saying he "invented the internet" which he never said, read the second paragraph below very carefully. If Gore wasn't around back in the day you probably wouldn't be reading this blog today.

"Since his loss, Gore has undergone a resurrection of sorts, shrugging off the consultants and the caution that hampered him during the campaign and -- aided by new distribution technologies -- evolving into perhaps the most articulate, animated, and forceful critic of the Bush administration. And now, with Democrats taking a fresh look at a man they thought they knew and speculation mounting around his ambitions in 2008, it seems that the man much mocked for inventing the Internet is in fact using the direct communication it enables to reinvent himself."
....
But it wasn’t. In fact, little could’ve been more natural for Gore, one of Congress’ earliest and most committed computer nerds. Though his misreported comments on the Internet’s lineage were unfortunate for his campaign, Gore, in fact, was a prime mover in its early days -- if not its father, then definitely the rich uncle who sent it to college, using his seat on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee to ensure the fledgling technology had the financial wherewithal to make something of itself. Vinton Cerf and Bob Kahn, the two men most often given credit for birthing the Web (due to their development of the crucial TCP/IP protocols), were so appalled by the media’s distortion of Gore’s comments that they jointly penned a defense, writing that “no other elected official … has made a greater contribution over a longer period of time” than Gore.

Old Forecasts Come Back to Haunt Bush:
You reap what you sow.

"Three years of upbeat White House assessments about Iraq that turned out to be premature, incomplete or plain wrong are complicating President Bush's efforts to restore public faith in the military operation and his presidency, according to pollsters and Republican lawmakers and strategists."

Carlos Santana speaks out against Bush:
Bush can kiss that duet and subsequent Grammy goodbye.

"'I have wisdom. I feel love. I live in the present and I try to present a dimension that brings harmony and healing,' the 58-year-old rock icon said. 'My concept is the opposite of George W. Bush.'"

To head off allergies, expose your kids to pets and dirt early.
I've, personally, lived with this thinking for years. We've become too clean. Too much anti-bacteria soap, lotion, gel. Look, I WANT bacteria. I WANT to get really sick occassionly. Its like a work out for your immune system. When it comes down to it I want it to be me and the cockroaches that are left.

"Here's the conventional wisdom: Pets promote allergy, kids shouldn't eat peanuts until they're at least 3, and intestinal worms are nothing more than an icky reminder of life before flush toilets.

Here's the new wisdom: Early exposure to pets, peanuts and intestinal worms might actually be good for you, because they program the developing immune system to know the difference between real threats, such as germs, and Aunt Millie's cat. "

Woman With Perfect Memory Baffles Scientists:
Pretty cool article. She's trippy. Reminds me of the Bene Gesserit in Dune.

"Give her any date, she said, and she could recall the day of the week, usually what the weather was like on that day, personal details of her life at that time, and major news events that occurred on that date.

Like any good scientist, McGaugh was initially skeptical. But not anymore.

'This is real,' he says."

And finally, prepare to wet yourselves. Best viewed in IE.

Leprechauns, Bitches!

Lying Language

Bush Using Straw-Man Arguments in Speeches
Not just Bush but Faux News, and, well, just about all of the television news channels along with ALL of Shrub's administration use this rhetorical trick. And a "trick" is exactly what it is. It is dishonest and is corrupting the real political discourse needed in this country.

"When the president starts a sentence with 'some say' or offers up what 'some in Washington' believe, as he is doing more often these days, a rhetorical retort almost assuredly follows."

Bush routinely is criticized for dressing up events with a too-rosy glow. But experts in political speech say the straw man device, in which the president makes himself appear entirely reasonable by contrast to supposed "critics," is just as problematic.
....
A specialist in presidential rhetoric, Wayne Fields of Washington University in St. Louis, views it as "a bizarre kind of double talk" that abuses the rules of legitimate discussion."It's such a phenomenal hole in the national debate that you can have arguments with nonexistent people," Fields said. "All politicians try to get away with this to a certain extent. What's striking here is how much this administration rests on a foundation of this kind of stuff."

But I thought Clinton was the word parsing, double-speaking, definition of "is" is, Slick Willy snake oil salesman. That's how the Repugs defined him. Let's take a historical look back at the Clinton administration right before the Republican forced impeachment:

Poll: Clinton's approval rating up in wake of impeachment - December 20, 1998

"AllPolitics, December 20) -- In the wake of the House of Representatives' approval of two articles of impeachment, Bill Clinton's approval rating has jumped 10 points to 73 percent, the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll shows.

That's not only an all-time high for Clinton, it also beats the highest approval rating President Ronald Reagan ever had.

Despite concerns that public calls for Clinton's resignation would rise after his impeachment, the number of Americans who want Clinton to resign has remained statistically unchanged. Only 30 percent want Clinton to resign; only 29 percent want the Senate to convict Clinton and remove him from office.

Clinton had a higher approval rating than REAGAN! So let's check in on Dear Leader's numbers as of last week. A Dear Leader who SHOULD be impeached:

Bush's Ratings Slump

A bitterly divided electorate gives President George W. Bush an approval rating of only 36 percent in the latest NEWSWEEK poll, matching the low point in his presidency recorded last November.

Oh, and let's check out how folks are using language to define Bush:

Bush battered by US pessimism, leadership doubts:

"A majority of Americans, 56 percent, believe Bush is 'out of touch,' the poll found. When asked for a one-word description of Bush, the most frequent response was 'incompetent,' followed by 'good,' 'idiot' and 'liar.' In February 2005, the most frequent reply was 'honest.'

Out of touch, idiot, liar, incompetent... I couldn't have said it better myself.

The current holder of the Democratic Party's Balls (apparently there is only one set that must be shared amongst the Demos), Russ Feingold enlightens us a bit more on language and how the Republicans/Fox News manipulate it instead of creating real policy that works for Americans as he defends his censure movement:

Feingold on Truthiness:

"FEINGOLD: It seems to me appropriate, when the spin machines are out there and people are using various language, to come out and reiterate my reasons for doing this.

I think that the press decided immediately that somehow this was a bad thing for Democrats and a good thing for conservatives. The facts don't bear it out. You don't have the polls to prove it. The way my colleagues are responding to me suggests to me they're thinking about this, that they feel that there has to be some accountability.

So the instant decision about what the story is, actually, I think is going to backfire on those who made up the story. I don't get the feeling that I had on Monday about this -- yes, people were concerned -- I'm not getting that.

And if the right wing really believes in this country that -- Rush Limbaugh and others -- that they can somehow turn the president's reputation around by saying, 'You're darn right he violated the law, and it's a good thing,' I think they're just as confused as they are about their Iraq politics. People aren't buying it anymore.

So not only do I not regret it, I felt an absolute obligation to do it."

Damn it's nice when someone takes truthiness and uncovers it for what it really is. Thanks Russ!

But what do you expect from the conservative "whiny-ass titty babies" as Atrios so articulately defines them. Check out this study done by researchers that will have Hannity, Limpballs, Ann Vultour and the rest acting, very soon, like, well.. "whiny-ass titty babies".

How to spot a baby conservative:

"Remember the whiny, insecure kid in nursery school, the one who always thought everyone was out to get him, and was always running to the teacher with complaints? Chances are he grew up to be a conservative."

At least, he did if he was one of 95 kids from the Berkeley area that social scientists have been tracking for the last 20 years. The confident, resilient, self-reliant kids mostly grew up to be liberals.

Oh, I can hear them sucking the blood from bat fetuses now in preparation for the "Ward Churchilling" they are about to bring down on these researchers.

I see that Alabama is moving at its normal pace of change in correcting wrongs:

Ala. Segregation Arrests May Be Pardoned

Yeah, great. 40 fucking years to correct the record.

But, wait! Them Damn Yankees don't seem to be much quicker. They're just now starting to teach kids that slavery didn't just happen in the south.

Shedding light on slavery in the north:

"'Many people are surprised when you talk about slavery's existence in New York,' Carter said. 'They're surprised because it's taught as something that happened in the South.'"

But our hero for today is Mudcat Saunders. I love this guy. I posted about him previously. Here is a man who knows language and specifically knows how to talk to Southerners.

Mudcat crashes the Party:

"Can a guy who sleeps under a Confederate-flag bedspread really be the answer to the Democrats taking back the White House?

Can someone who says the only people he hates more than Republicans are opera-listening Northeastern Democrats persuade country folks to vote for Hillary Clinton?"
.....
This is the same Mudcat who, as a young sportswriter, asked NFL quarterback great Johnny Unitas why he dried his privates before his face after a post-game shower.
.....
"It's unbelievable that Democrats can't figure out that what we're really worried about is health care and jobs, that Mama's got to get a second job and how we're getting Junior to the dentist.

"To me, as far as gays are concerned, ... what's two queer guys gettin' married got to do with me losing my job?"

There is hope, yet!

And finally today:

Chili's Heat Kills Prostate Cancer Cells
This is good news but I'm a bit worried as to how the application works.

DBT Week in Review 3/12 - 3/18

Hey All Y'all: This is something new I'll be posting on Friday's each week. Just a round up of all the DBT web related info I come across during the week. Hope you enjoy!

The big news last week, and especially big for us West Coasters, came from DBT Jenn, one of our favorite persons in the world. Jenn sent us and email alerting us to the first dates of the A Blessing and a Curse Tour. Click here from the dates.

Best of all are the Friday and Saturday shows at the Fillmore in SF:

Fri May 5 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore w/ Son Volt

Sat May 6 - San Francisco, CA - Fillmore w/ Son Volt (DBT opens)

I contacted High Road Touring and asked if DBT will be headlining the Friday night show and I got the following response:

Hi jason,

Details are still be worked out.

Keep checking back to the website.

Glad you’re so psyched.....we are too!

Best,
HRT

From MattR at Ninebullets we learn that KEXP in Seattle has archived an interview and 4 new songs DBT played last Friday for SXSW. Click here and type in March 17, 2006 at 12:15 p.m. The box that shows up says Loretta Lynn but just keep listening and you'll soon here the sweet sounds of DBT live.

Here's a nice article out of Ireland regarding the boys and girl. Hat tip to a tipster on the DBT Yahoo Group.

KEEP ON TRUCKIN':

"'It's definitely gone a little wrong down here from time to time, but right now the entire country has gone a little wrong. And the south is kinda the stronghold of support in a lot of ways for the kind of people who have done the most damage to this region. I think that's one of those strange American ironies. This is a region of the country that for better or for worse lives in the past. And some of the good things about this part of the country probably derive from that, but some of the bad things do too. There's a danger with living too much in the past, in that you tend to romanticise things that in reality weren't all that romantic.'"

"There's been times I've complained about things moving so slow and taking so long, but the fact that it has kept growing over this long period of time has been a good thing for us. Certainly it's been healthier for us in a creative way than it would have been if on our third album we hit it huge. . . But it's been so gradual I feel we've been literally building up our fanbase one person at a time. It's like selling it door to door."

And in some related news the following article appear in the Times Daily regarding the sweet Muscle Shoals Sound:

Frozen in time

Original Muscle Shoals Sound could become museum

"There's so much history here," said Webster, who purchased the building in 1999. "That's what I'm screaming, and everybody just passes it by. They don't notice."
That soon may change. The building has been approved by state officials for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
...
Local musicians known as the Muscle Shoals Swampers spent countless recording hours alongside famous singers and bands, helping churn out hit after hit.

"It's staggering the amount of songs and the percentage of hits," Webster said, thumbing through the studio's massive discography list. "It seems like everybody who walked in here left with a hit."
....
A sense of history is thick within the old studio. Musicians often told about literally feeling the beat from the floor's thick oak beams throughout the studio while a song was being recorded. "That's something that other studios can't duplicate," Webster said.
....
He showed photos of old recording sessions featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd. Webster spoke of the Staple Sisters' 1972 hit, "I'll Take You There," which not only was recorded at 3614 Jackson Highway, it also was written about the studio.