Friday, April 30, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 4/30/10

DBT!

3DD is the place to be... especially hit that front page before you mosey to the new and improved forums.

threedimesdown.com

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Gretsch Guitar Signed by all Members of DBT to be Auctioned - Drive-By Truckers's MySpace Blog |

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Best review of the year and English is the writer's 2nd language AND this is the first time writer has seen the mighty DBT. American music 'writers' take note:

rockerparis: Drive-by Truckers @ L' Album de la Semaine Canal , Paris April 28th 8:00PM:
"Back at the famous Canal tv show L' Album de la Semaine to see , completely unknown over here, American band from Alabama ( and based in Georgia) Drive-By truckers."
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Drive-By Truckers deliver big tales worth stopping for - Go! Magazine | ColumbiaTribune.com:
"Driven largely by the stirring writing of Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley, “The Big To-Do” is an album with evocative mini-narratives and tight yet unrestrained sound that grow more resonant by the listen, proving DBT the rare band that can string together 13 tracks without a single second of filler. One of the best records so far this year, it burnishes their reputation as first-rate rockers sensitive enough to color their songs with a cinematic brush."
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Encore performance this weekend on your local PBS.

Austin City Limits - (3412) Drive-By Truckers / Ryan Bingham

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Reel Fanatic: Atlanta Film Festival report No. 4: "The Secret to a Happy Ending" with the Drive-By Truckers

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Wait for it....



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Bettye LaVette

Great read but just a little bit more actual research needed. Not hard to do.

Bettye's new record is going to be the absolute tits, ya'll.

Leonce Gaiter: Bettye LaVette: The High Priestess of R&B, Too Long Ignored:
"Then someone comes along and reminds me of what we can do in other forms. Bettye LaVette has been around since she was a teenager in the early sixties, largely ignored. She never, as she put it, 'crossed over.' Opportunities were lost, missed, unrecognized or unfulfilled. Then, in 2005 she released 'I've Got My Own Hell to Raise.' The great Joe Henry produced. The songs came from a slew of fine female writers: Aimee Mann, Dolly Parton, Joan Armatrading, Lucinda Williams. Immediately, that voice slapped you. Unashamedly aged, rough, ragged and under absolute control. On the song 'Just Say So,' she proved that she could find depths of longing and desperation in a lyric that the songwriters probably didn't even know existed.

She then released the brilliant 'Scene of the Crime' with the Muscle Shoals rhythm section."
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FREE MP3: Betty LaVette - "Salt of the Earth" :: Featured Videos :: Paste

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ANTI- Bettye LaVette Invited By Robert Plan To Open On His July Tour:
"The stars are aligning for Bettye LaVette and the May 25 release of Interpretations: The British Rock Songboo, as Robert Plant has invited Bettye to open for his July tour. Bettye's 3rd album for Anti-, and the follow-up to her Grammy-nominated Scene of the Crime, is earning considerable praise from both the press and her artist peers, and she’s already booked for a performance on The Late Show with David Letterman for June 23.

The request to join the legendary Led Zeppelin vocalist on tour is not so much a notch in Bettye's belt as it is another link in the chain: Her latest work is an impassioned dissertation on the much-documented influence that American blues and soul had on British rock n' roll – but more than that, it's an exploration of how those echoes from a foreign shore in turn influenced and reshaped American blues and soul. Fittingly, Bettye’s rendition of the Led Zeppelin classic “All My Love,” will premiere exclusively on AOL’s “Spinner” April 27."
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Dexateens

Get yo momma a present from Elliott this year.

FOR SALE : LIGHTBOXES : ELLIOTT McPHERSON : CORNELIUS CHAPEL BUHL, AL

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Music

Diabetic and sleeveless. Classic.

DUDE, DON’T DIE. | The People's Music:
"Bret seems like a nice guy and has always done what most any other average American guy would do given the opportunity and selection of cowboy hats. In fact, Bret is America. He’s diabetic, sleeveless, and just trying to get back to his success from the 80’s. Bret Michaels is Mr. America, which is all the more reason he cannot die while under contract with Donald Trump."
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Justin Townes Earle live at The Guest Apartment on Baeblemusic

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OK, I'm ready to take you on now... what, you're quitting?

A-ha Breaking Up After Three Decades Together | PopEater.com:
"A-ha are ending their 30-year run.

The '80s band, who gave us the memorable video for their greatest hit 'Take on Me,' have decided to call it quits, EOnline.com reports.

Morten Harket, Magne Furuholmen and Paul Waaktaar-Savoy will tour one last time together this year, but it will be their last."
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Pitchfork: Record Store Day Sets, Uh, Records:
"Billboard reports that according to Nielsen Soundscan, this year's Record Store Day marked the biggest single day for vinyl sales in the history of Soundscan, which started counting things in 1991. According to Billboard, RSD's co-founder, the Music Monitor Network's Michael Kurtz, also reports that stores including New York City's Other Music, Seattle's Sonic Boom, and New Jersey's Vintage Vinyl, had their most successful days ever. And sales were up all across the board.

Good work, people."
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Beer

Went to high school with Dale. Yet to get my hands on any of his brew.

50 Beers to Try Before You Die - The Early Show - CBS News:
"Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale - $9 (6-pack cans)
Packed with tons of citrus from a heavy dose of American hops, this is the quintessential stateside IPA. Like most pale ales, it's on the hoppier side-which means its slightly bitter and sour. You know hops when you taste em. However, it's not as hoppy as a IPA (Indian Pale Ale). And we really like the can, which makes it easily transportable, great to bring to a picnic or barbecue or the beach. Technically speaking, beer lasts longer in a can because no light is allowed in."
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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Conservative' Judicial Activism

Well, howdy Mr. President! Keep up this kind of talk and translate it into action, and good things might happen.

Conservative-Activist judges are destroying this country one ruling at a time. They are not concerned with justice. The goal is to implement their ideology.

I harp on this book a lot, but read The Handmaid's Tale for conservative's vision for America.

Obama Supreme Court Warning: 'Conservative' Judicial Activism Is 'What You're Now Seeing':
"WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, preparing to make his second nominee to the Supreme Court, warned Wednesday of a 'conservative' brand of judicial activism in which the courts are often not showing appropriate deference to the decision of lawmakers.

Obama made clear that his views on judicial restraint are not the only basis he will use in choosing his next nominee for the high court, a decision expected over the next few weeks.

But his comments underscore just how much he thinks courts are being vested with too much power and are overruling legislative will, a factor that will influence his nominee choice."
Case in point:

Supreme Court overturns objection to cross on public land

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Maher's last line nails it to a T-bag:

Bill Maher Blasts Tea Baggers For Ignoring Defense Spending (VIDEO)

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Yes.

Have Conservatives Gone Mad? - Politics - The Atlantic:
"The issue, to put it in terms that even I can understand, because I didn't study philosophy much in college: has the conservative base gone mad?

This matters to journalists, because I really do want to take Republicans seriously. Mainstream conservative voices are embracing theories that are, to use Julian Sanchez's phrase, 'untethered' to the real world.

Can anyone deny that the most trenchant and effective criticism of President Obama today comes not from the right but from the left? Rachel Maddow's grilling of administration economic officials. Keith Olbermann's hectoring of Democratic leaders on the public option. Glenn Greenwald's criticisms of Elena Kagan. Ezra Klein and Jonathan Cohn's keepin'-them-honest perspectives on health care. The civil libertarian left on detainees and Gitmo. The Huffington Post on derivatives."
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However.... to be all 'fair and balanced'.

Rendell: Democratic Party Is Soulless, 'Cowering Behind The Shower Curtains':
"'I don't think we have a battle for our soul -- I think we have lost our soul,' he said. 'We have been cowed into [sic] stop talking about the things that made us Democrats in the first place; that we believe the government can and should make a difference in people's lives; that we can protect the most vulnerable in our society; that we can, in fact, give opportunities to people who haven't had it. And that government can be an important catalyst -- they can't do it by itself -- but they can be a catalyst for growth.'

That's what we believe in. But [Republicans] have us cowering behind the shower curtains,' he concluded.

The Huffington Post approached Rendell after the affair and asked him to elaborate on what, exactly, he meant by saying the Democratic Party is soulless.

'We have been out-spun and we are scared,' he said. 'And when you are scared, you can do one of two things: you can circle the wagons and hide inside or under the wagon, or you can get out and fight for what you believe in. I think we are starting -- President Obama started when he went to the Republican caucus -- to fight back and for what we believe in. If we do that, I think our losses will be much less [in 2010] than what anybody suspects.'"
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All of the Tea-bag cross burnings have effected the children in a drastic way. Won't someone PLEASE think about the children.

Indianola Testicle Attack? Teenagers Allegedly Hazed 14-Year-Old

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This kinda smelled fishy when I posted it earlier. Lying: The Way of Corporate America.

GM's phony loan repayment | Video Cafe

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Too cheap for whom? (I know, I know, but frack them).

Daily Kos: Wind's latest problem: it ... makes power too cheap:
"windmills (...) operators in Europe may have become their own worst enemy, reducing the total price paid for electricity in Germany, Europe’s biggest power market, by as much as 5 billion euros some years

The wind-energy boom in Europe and parts of Texas has begun to reduce bills for consumers.

Spanish power prices fell an annual 26 percent in the first quarter because of the surge in supplies from wind and hydroelectric production"
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This came out of a discussion on the old Ninebullets board. Great read. We really haven't progressed that much in the good old U.S.A.:

The Hanging of Mary The Elephant | Blue Ridge Country

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Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Something We Wouldn't Want to Meet

Skimmer's are Republican darlings; the folks they are fighting for tooth and nail.

What Atrios says:

Eschaton:
"The Skimmer Economy

Some day I hope more people realize that large segments of our economy don't actually do anything (health insurance, much of finance/real estate), they simply position themselves in the middle of transactions and take their cut. That isn't to say there are no transactions which legitimately require skilled middlemen, or that there is no legitimate function for the finance and banking industries, but to a great degree the skimmers just don't do anything productive at all. Except take our money."
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I spent a couple of years in AZ. As a Dem, the A-xenophobes (R) have just handed us a gift. Will be interesting to see how the Dems screw it up.

And isn't having to carry papers at all times rather.... well, Nazi-ish?

I thought Dems were the Nazi/Commie/Socialist. Makes about as much sense as a Glenn Beck chalk board.

Linda Greenhouse: Arizona Is A 'Police State,' 'I'm Not Going Back':
"I'm not going back to Arizona as long as it remains a police state, which is what the appalling anti-immigrant bill that Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law last week has turned it into.

What would Arizona's revered libertarian icon, Barry Goldwater, say about a law that requires the police to demand proof of legal residency from any person with whom they have made 'any lawful contact' and about whom they have 'reasonable suspicion' that 'the person is an alien who is unlawfully present in the United States?' Wasn't the system of internal passports one of the most distasteful features of life in the Soviet Union and apartheid-era South Africa?"
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Sound of crickets.

Why Aren’t Tea Partiers Protesting Arizona’s Big Government Overreach On Immigration?:
"Isn’t the whole premise of the Tea Party movement that overreaching government poses a grave threat to individual freedom? It seems to me that a law allowing individuals to be detained and interrogated on a whim — and requiring legal residents to carry identification documents, as in a police state — would send the Tea Partyers into apoplexy. Or is there some kind of exception if the people whose freedoms are being taken away happen to have brown skin and might speak Spanish?"
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SF is boycotting AZ.

City Insider : City workers banned from official travel to Arizona

So is Mexico.

Some truckers plan boycott over Arizona immigration law - Politics AP - MiamiHerald.com

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I made a similar comment recently.

Justice for thee, but not for me.

Boggles the mind:

Greenwald: Obama DoJ prosecutes Bush corruption whistleblower, but not Bush war crimes

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Larry Flynt is right!

BBC News - Stephen Hawking warns over making contact with aliens:
"He explained: 'We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn't want to meet.'"
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Talk about your skimmers.

Congratulations Comcast; You're The Worst Company In America! - The Consumerist:
"After four rounds of bloody battle against some of the most publicly reviled businesses in America, Comcast can now run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and hold its hands high in victory -- it has bested everyone else to earn the title of Worst Company In America for 2010."
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Big placebo in the sky.

Placebo effect beats God, Prozac:
"This is the story of three drugs. Except one is not really a drug at all and is merely an illusion, a nifty construct, an intense belief that it might be a drug, even though, as mentioned, it is very much not. We just think it is. Isn't that strange? Wonderful? Both?

The three drugs -- which, sorry, are not so much drugs as they are modes of comprehending our own weird little minds, needs and inherent psychoses -- are presented here by way of two recent studies that essentially reinforce what similar studies have been declaring for years and decades and, in the second case, since the ancient mystics suckled wild plants in the forest, licked God, found the source of the soul, and said, you know, holy f--."
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Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black

Yes, just imagine. Imagine the 24/7 hyperventilation of the FAUX 'news' borg.

Ephphatha Poetry: "Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise:
"Imagine that hundreds of black protesters were to descend upon Washington DC and Northern Virginia, just a few miles from the Capitol and White House, armed with AK-47s, assorted handguns, and ammunition. And imagine that some of these protesters —the black protesters — spoke of the need for political revolution, and possibly even armed conflict in the event that laws they didn’t like were enforced by the government? Would these protester — these black protesters with guns — be seen as brave defenders of the Second Amendment, or would they be viewed by most whites as a danger to the republic? What if they were Arab-Americans? Because, after all, that’s what happened recently when white gun enthusiasts descended upon the nation’s capital, arms in hand, and verbally announced their readiness to make war on the country’s political leaders if the need arose."
Plus:

Dem governor: Fox News outdid tea partiers in ‘marshalling anger’ | Raw Story

equals:

Armed man held after arrest as Obama leaves NC:
"His car was equipped with clear LED law enforcement-style strobe lights in the front and rear dash, Smith said. The car also had a mounted digital camera in the front window, four large antennas on the trunk lid, and under the steering wheel was a working siren box.

When McVey got out of the car, he was listening to a handheld scanner and radio that had a remote earpiece, Smith said. Police said he was monitoring local agencies and had formulas for rifle scopes on a note in his cup holder."
Times a million:

Not so much for lovers.

Think Progress � Virginia DMV Pulls License Plate Coded With Neo-Nazi Message From Truck With Anti-Islam Imagery

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Of course they did. The gulf coast has been destroyed.

How's the oily drilly nowy thingy workin' for ya, you betcha.

This is going to make the Valdez look like a coffee spill.

Big Oil Fought Off New Safety Rules Before Rig Disaster

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Something to keep in mind:

CBS Report: Copy Machines Retain Copies On Their Hard Drives | Crooks and Liars

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I've never understood this term 'premature ejaculation'. I 'ejaculate' precisely when I'm suppose to... always.

Priligy, First Pill To Stop Premature Ejaculation, Goes On Sale In UK

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Great product commercial:

The Best Apple Advertisement Yet - Stephen C. Webster - Brave New Hooks - True/Slant:
"Virginia Campbell, a 99-year-old resident of Mary’s Woods Retirement Community in Lake Oswego, Oregon, recently got an iPad. She says it has changed her life because it enabled her to read and write again. Now, there’s video."

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Monday, April 26, 2010

The Importance of Being Bagger

Uhhh, not really. Barely English.

I guess Alabama Republicans are getting a little jealous that they've been out-crazied of late.

No worries. Their bag of bigoted tricks is quite large.

The Rachel Maddow Show - 'This is Alabama. We speak English'

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Wow. To admit it... and it is 'has' not 'had'.

Again... Wow.

Michael Steele Acknowledges GOP Had “Southern Strategy” For Decades | The Plum Line:
"But I think folks are missing the real news in what Steele said. The RNC chairman also appeared to acknowledge that the GOP has had a race-based “southern strategy” for four decades, which is decidedly not a historical interpretation many Republicans agree with."
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Yeah, how's that free market working for ya?

In Coal Country, a Culture of Fear � The Washington Independent:

“They told my husband, ‘You’ve got a job to do and you’re gonna do it,’” said the wife of one Massey miner, referring to the funerals he’s missed this month for friends who died in the blast. “What else are we gonna do?”"
Where's the competition. How can a worker tell Massey to go frack himself and then take his/her talents to the competition?
Virginia, where coal is the only real industry, and Massey is king of the hill. Indeed, in certain areas there’s simply no queen.

“The bad thing here is that Massey owns [the Upper Big Branch] mine, and they’ve got a lot of subsidiaries — little tiny outfits just all down the river,” said Denny Tyler, an electrician who has contracted with Massey and now runs a website advocating for the end to mountaintop removal. “If you get fired from one, you’re not working anywhere on Coal River. … Its a fear thing
Evil. The lot of them.

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Special place in hell for insurance executives.

Exclusive: WellPoint routinely targets breast cancer patients | Reuters

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I guess the 'news media' is getting tired of playing with the tea bags.

The tea party's exaggerated importance - Jonathan Martin and Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

There were 15,000 people at a cannabis and hemp expo in SF last week, but Hannity didn't host that one though it was 3 times as large as any bagger cross burning.

Hell, a dog poop protest in SF draws more participants.

Rendell: Media blow Tea Parties out of proportion | Raw Story:
"'We had two recent Tea Party demonstrations in Washington. One a week before the health care vote, drew about 1,000 people. The tax day rally by the organizers' own estimate was 1,500 people,' explained the governor.

'If I organized a rally for stronger laws to protect puppies, I would get 100,000 people to Washington. So, I think the media has blown the Tea Party themselves out of proportion,' said Rendell."
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Salt be killing us.

FDA plans to limit amount of salt allowed in processed foods for health reasons:
"The Food and Drug Administration is planning an unprecedented effort to gradually reduce the salt consumed each day by Americans, saying that less sodium in everything from soup to nuts would prevent thousands of deaths from hypertension and heart disease. The initiative, to be launched this year, would eventually lead to the first legal limits on the amount of salt allowed in food products."
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Touche. Keep pluckin', though.

Chicago's DJ Intel And Blogger Girlfriend Make Vegetarian Version Of KFC's 'Double-Down

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After the attack, dude surfed for another 45 minutes.

Surfer rides shark after it bites his surfboard

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Friday, April 23, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 4/23/10

DBT!

Drive-By Truckers miss their last exit, have a 'Happy Ending' - USATODAY.com:
"'When we go to see the Truckers play, we wear diapers so we don't have to go to the bathroom,' declares a young female fan early on in The Secret to a Happy Ending, a documentary about Southern rock band the Drive-By Truckers.

Similar devotion to the Athens, Ga.-based Truckers led Washington, D.C.-area filmmaker Barr Weissman to spend nearly six years making what he calls 'a love letter to rock 'n' roll.'"
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Vic Chesnutt, Alex Chilton, And The Big To-Do: An Interview with Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers: The Q: GQ

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Amazing picture. Tells the tale of the times of this glorious band.

Drive-By Truckers Crash Rec Store Day! on Blurt Online




some thoughts from the crowd while we wait for the Drive-By Truckers to stage., some thoughts from the crowd while we wait for the Drive-By Truckers to sta...



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Music review: Drive-By Truckers April 9 show in Chicago - chicagotribune.com

Drive-By at House of Blues- Roving Festival Writer, LLC | TheRFW.com

Drive By Truckers Live at The Norva - Norfolk, VA 4/15/2010 | Merchants Of Rock

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Love this:

The Drive-By Truckers' Union Roots | Teamster Magazine:
"Did you grow up in a union home (or ever belong to a union yourself), or was work an important part of your upbringing?

MC: My dad was a Teamster for a few years. He drove dump trucks, hauling asphalt and gravel.

PH: My dad and I have both been members of the musicians union. My dad has been there for over 40 years. I was also partly raised by my great uncle who was a Teamster. He drove trucks for International Harvester from 1946 through 1976. I have very strong working-class roots, even though my dad is a lifelong musician. He was always more on the working man’s end of al of that (being a session musician)."
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Lauderdale

Come with the new record, already!

Lauderdale Live at Pegasus Records, Tapes & CDs on 2010-04-17 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

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Music

Hilarious:

BIGGEST MISUSE OF THE WORD “ACADEMY” EVER | The People's Music:
"Three years ago, Troy Gentry pled guilty to shooting a domesticated, caged bear named “Cubby.” This year the ACM gave Montgomery Gentry their humanitarian award. As horrible as that may be, it still shows more integrity than giving them an award for their music."
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I agree:

SFGate: Daily Dish : Russell Brand: How to weed out teenyboppers from music

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America's 15 Best Indie Record Stores | Spin Magazine Online:
"1. AMOEBA

6400 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, 1855 Haight Street in San Francisco, and 2455 Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, California"
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Measuring Success By Fan Passion, Not Billboard Chart Position | Techdirt:
"For a long time now, we've chosen to measure their success in the fans' passion for the music rather than Billboard chart positions.
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RIP, Alicia.

Writer Alicia Parlette, who moved many readers with 'Alicia's Story,' dies

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Thursday, April 22, 2010

Earth Day

Not of this earth, but that which makes it all possible. Amazing images:

Burning Beauty: A New Look at the Sun

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Of this Earth and spectacular volcano lightning.

Iceland volcano erupts - Yahoo! News Photos

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Most effective use of Earth's gravity by a human doing (even though insanity ensues)

That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stranger - New York Times:
"‘‘He pushes himself into madness,’’ says Tomaz Kovsca, a journalist for Slovene television. ‘‘He pushes too far.’’ Rajko Petek, a 35-year-old fellow soldier and friend who is on Robic’s support crew, says: ‘‘What Jure does is frightening. Sometimes during races he gets off his bike and walks toward us in the follow car, very angry.’’

What do you do then?

Petek glances carefully at Robic, standing a few yards off. ‘‘We lock the doors,’’ he whispers."
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When gravity is not quite gone, but, rather, decides to frack with you. (The grass on that patch of earth is really nice, dude. Forget them sandles and just sway with the rotation).

There but for the grace of not having a VIP ticket go I.



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People that make living on this dirtball endurable:

We survived Bush. You’ll survive Obama. � Margaret and Helen:

"Margaret, please tell Howard that I love him because he loves you. But that is about all the reaching across the aisle that I can handle. A few years back, millions of people across this nation and across the globe marched for peace. George Bush ignored us and we had to endure his lazy ass being in the White House for eight years.

So now a black man named Barack Obama, elected by the will of the people, has decided to fight for the poor, and work for world peace… and a bunch of white guys who think Fox really is News just can’t stand it.

Well, they can kiss my ass because I am tired of their belly aching."
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Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Fair The Well

Bad President:

Indict the whistleblower but not those upon who the whistle was blown?

Absolutely no accountability for anyone in this country... unless you are poor. Then you'll get that ass tased.

Obama’s Justice Department indicts NSA whistleblower | Raw Story

Bad President:

You mean the two individual's advice Obama and Congressional Dems are basing their entire economic strategy around now? Shouldn't have listened to them then, why the frack are we listening to them now?

These people get more chances than a 5 year old playing in his first tee-ball game.

Daily Kos: Bill Clinton: I Shouldn't Have Listened to Summers and Rubin

Kinda Good President.

Issue an executive directive suspending DADT until the policy is abolished, then we'll talk 'very good prez'.

Obama Directs HHS To Establish Rules Ensuring Hospital Visitation Rights For Gay, Lesbian Couples:
"President Obama has signed a memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to establish rules that would bar hospitals from denying visitation rights to partners of gay and lesbian patients."
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If they are crying about something are blaming another, you can be assured they are doing the 'something' and are most certainly to blame.

Memories of the Backwards B | Talking Points Memo

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They don't care, Robert.

Robert Greenwald: We're Not Stupid, Mitch:
"This is why so many people hate so many politicians. Far too many say one thing to the public and another thing in private, smoke-and-whiskey-filled rooms to their cigar-smoking patrons. It's like they think no one can see what they're doing. You're not invisible, Mitch! We can see you!

GIve it a rest. We're not stupid."
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Amen.

Judge rules National Day of Prayer unconstitutional - USATODAY.com:
"MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge in Wisconsin ruled the National Day of Prayer unconstitutional Thursday, saying the day amounts to a call for religious action.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb wrote that the government can no more enact laws supporting a day of prayer than it can encourage citizens to fast during Ramadan, attend a synagogue or practice magic.

'In fact, it is because the nature of prayer is so personal and can have such a powerful effect on a community that the government may not use its authority to try to influence an individual's decision whether and when to pray,' Crabb wrote."
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Double amen. Clean your own house, then we'll talk.

Balloon Juice � Blog Archive � A Very Religious Open Thread:
"You know what would be really great? If all the fantastic (and they are fantastic) liberal/left Christians would spend five minutes a day writing angry letters to the Christian right wing about how unchristian they are instead of complaining to atheists about how much bad press you all are getting from the overt bad actions of your co-religionists."
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We've all caught a thread of someone's life online and followed it for a while before that thread disappears or we hitch another online life ride.

I followed Alicia's blog on the SF Chronicles website 3 years ago. I read about her hospital visits, her hopes and dreams and the daily mundane beyond cancer.

Alicia left my radar a year ago. Was sad to see this recent article.

Fair the well, Alicia. Go be without pain.

Alicia Parlette faces final stages of journey:
"Surrounded by her favorite things - her rescue dog, Clarabelle, a 1960 edition of 'To Kill a Mockingbird,' her scrapbooks and her stuffed Baby Bear, San Francisco writer Alicia Parlette is saying her goodbyes to family, friends and her new fiance as she enters the final chapter of her battle with cancer.

She is 28 years old."
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Tuesday, April 20, 2010

At least I hope I did

Fair and balanced journalism:

Fox News yanks Sean Hannity from Cincinnati Tea Party rally he was set to star in | Show Tracker | Los Angeles Times

Well, duh.

Cincinnati Tea Party: Fox Isn’t Telling The Truth About The Hannity Broadcast:

Faux + Teabaggers = Violence.

Tea Partiers Get Their News From Fox And Are More Likely To Justify Violence Against The Government

He really can't.

Daily Kos: He really can't be their president:
"Just like some people distort the Koran to fit their crazy fanaticism, teabaggers twist ideals like 'Freedom' and 'Self Reliance' and 'Individualism' into something that is 180 degrees different. 'Freedom' is the freedom to hate anyone who isn't like 'us', 'Individualism' is ignoring anyone who is not as successful as 'we are' because it's their fault and they can go to hell, and 'Self Reliance' turned into simple selfishness."
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Shocking

Report: Tea Parties created as GOP political ploy | Raw Story

The Tea Party has been billed as an organic grassroots operation, but a newly uncovered document obtained by Politico suggests the movement has been successfully co-opted as a Republican fundraising ploy.

GOP political consultant Joe Wierzbicki floated the proposal a year ago today to create the Tea Party Express, a nationwide bus tour to "give a boost to our PAC and position us as a growing force/leading force as the 2010 elections come into focus." His idea eventually became one of the best known brands in the Tea Party movement.

The document cautioned planners to be careful when discussing the ruse to use Tea Parties for political gain. "We have to be very, very careful about discussing amongst ourselves anyone we include 'outside of the family' because quite frankly, we are not only not part of the political establishment or conservative establishment, but we are also sadly not currently a part of the 'tea party' establishment," Wierzbicki wrote.

Wierzbicki, who works for the Sacramento firm Russo Marsh + Rogers, went on to outline how conservative media including Fox News could be leveraged to hype the Tea Party Express. He recommended using "mentions and possibly even promotion from conservative/pro-tea party bloggers, talk radio hosts, Fox News commentators, etc..."

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To reiterate: 'Go Fuck Yourselves, FAUX'.

Stewart calls out Fox News hypocrisy: ‘Go f*ck yourselves’ | Raw Story:
"'They're tarring the entire Tea Party movement and the Republican Party,' Goldberg complained.

'Bernie Goldberg is right!' Stewart exclaimed. When it comes to generalizing, just 'don't do it.'

But the Fox News pundits don't seem so worried about generalizations of liberals and the Democratic Party. Goldberg told MSNBC's Joe Scarborough that liberals think 'that whole middle of the country is made up of sort of jerks. You know, that's a Democratic thing. That's a liberal thing.'

'That's what we call a fair generalization,' said a sarcastic Stewart. 'By the way, the anti-generalizers at Fox want you to know that generalizing is the least of the liberals problems,' explained Stewart. And to make the point, The Daily Show's research staff had no trouble find plenty examples of conservative pundits at Fox News doing their own generalizing.

'The left in this country is invested in defeat in Iraq,' said Cal Thomas.

'Liberals see just about everything through the prism of race,' according to Goldberg.

'The left always paint Christians as hate mongers,' Glenn Beck told O'Reilly.

Jon Stewart concluded with just three word for the hypocrites at Fox News: 'Go f*ck yourselves.'"

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Rockets, man.

Asteroid, bitches!

Obama: NASA Still Has Space Adventures Ahead:
"Asteroids zip by Earth fairly often and have occasionally smacked the planet with disastrous results. For example, asteroids have been blamed for the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Landing on an asteroid would give scientists a better idea of how to handle a future killer asteroid that could wipe out much of life on Earth. Also, it would be a feat sure to win great attention – and there is far less gravity than the moon, meaning it would be easier and cheaper to leave."

Despite uproar, Obama holds firm on NASA space exploration plans / The Christian Science Monitor - CSMonitor.com

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Finishes what he starts and very well organized.

Man delivers obituary to newspaper, hangs himself:

"The Mountain Democrat newspaper published part of the Allan Leo Peters II suicide note accompanying the obituary. The 64-year-old man wrote he'd been struggling with emphysema and had trouble breathing. He wrote, 'Yes, I have hanged myself (At least I hope I did).'

The suicide note and obituary arrived at the newspaper Tuesday night, but went unopened until the following day. It included a $90 money order, the cost of publishing an obituary."

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Pretty damn amazing:

Red Bull Skydive Team Pulls Off Incredible Stunt: Man Jumps From Plane To Plane In Midair (VIDEO)

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Tax Cuts

This needs to be repeated ad nauseam.

Tax Day Fact Check: Most Americans Got A Tax Cut This Year

Taxes lowest in 60 years, thanks to Democrats and Obama

98 percent of Americans got tax cuts. The richest two percent, well, they didn't. The teabaggers, doing the bidding of America's richest elite, will remain outraged about that injustice. So they are always welcome to send their record-high tax refunds to Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh, and Bill O'Reilly. That way, they can prove once and for all that they are not all sound and ignorant fury.

Or are they more concerned about the deficit? If so, they are always free to tear up that refund check, doing their part to lower America's deficit.

Actions! They should would speak louder than their angry, uninformed words.


A note from billionaire J. K. Rowling (British Communist):

Daily Kos: Paying Taxes Is Patriotic:
"The fact remains that the first time I ever met my recently retired accountant, he put it to me point-blank: would I organise my money around my life, or my life around my money? If the latter, it was time to relocate to Ireland, Monaco, or possibly Belize.

I chose to remain a domiciled taxpayer for a couple of reasons. The main one was that I wanted my children to grow up where I grew up, to have proper roots in a culture as old and magnificent as Britain’s; to be citizens, with everything that implies, of a real country, not free-floating ex-pats, living in the limbo of some tax haven and associating only with the children of similarly greedy tax exiles.

A second reason, however, was that I am indebted to the British welfare state; the very one that Mr Cameron would like to replace with charity handouts. When my life hit rock bottom, that safety net, threadbare though it had become under John Major’s Government, was there to break the fall. I cannot help feeling, therefore, that it would have been contemptible to scarper for the West Indies at the first sniff of a seven-figure royalty cheque. This, if you like, is my notion of patriotism."

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Amazing how ant-like we humans are:

Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull Volcano PICTURES: Incredible Photos Of The Eruption, Ash Cloud

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Count me as one:

Estimate: 800,000 U.S. Households Abandoned Their TVs For The Web

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Via Jez. Funny stuff:

Lewis: How the North Face became the North Farce - The Denver Post:
"The South Butt's slogan is 'Never stop relaxing,' a spoof of The North Face's 'Never stop exploring.' The South Butt also advertises, 'Built for the great indoors,' 'Keep slacking in style,' and 'Why climb mountains?'

The North Face complained all of this was 'causing confusion, mistake and deception among the general purchasing public.'

To which Watkins deftly responded: 'The consuming public is well aware of the difference between a face and a butt.'"
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Better hope that rope holds

The Mommy Files : Video: 3-year-old walks tightrope over tigers

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Friday, April 16, 2010

DBT Week in Review - 4/16/10

DBT!

DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS WORST JOB VIDEOS | The People's Music

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NFL

Jerry Falls Victim To The Information Age (And Whiskey) | NBC Dallas-Fort Worth:
"This isn't the best way to go about things, and the booze is no excuse. As the Drive-By Truckers tell us, 'whiskey don't make you do a thing, it just lets you.'"
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10 Best Rock Operas - Spinner:
"3. 'Southern Rock Opera,' Drive-by Truckers
The classic Lynyrd Skynyrd lineup may have perished in that awful plane crash, but the band left behind a fine legacy for Drive-by Truckers, the band that would define what it was like to grow up in the South in their wake. This 2001 'Southern Rock Opera' tells Patterson Hood's semi-autobographical tale through the constant touchstone of the Skynyrd legend. Sample song title: 'Shut Up and Get on the Plane.'"
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DBTweet

NBA

Twitter / Paul Shirley: I've owned the new @driveb ...:
"I've owned the new @drivebytruckers album for 12 days. I've listened to 'Birthday Boy' 8 times. This is a lot. So far, best song of 2010."
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I'm lovin' it too, Junkie.

Twitter / Athens Music Junkie: I love all the social medi ...:
"I love all the social media stuff the @drivebytruckers are doing. Kinda makes me wish I had a bad job to post on www.workingthisjob.com."
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I might not agree, but I know comedy when I see it.

Twitter / BitterOldPunk: @soundhunter Kings of Leon ...:
"@soundhunter Kings of Leon is for people who like My Morning Jacket but think Drive-By Truckers r 2 country. I have no use for these people."
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David Morton is rocking to DBT whilst climbing Mt. Everest.

Twitter / David Morton: renjola yesterday. tday le ...

renjola yesterday. tday leaving Gokyo. tmorrow ChoLa. BC 11 or 12. Drive-By Truckers on the headphones. new FA update soon.

Meeting with Elizabeth Hawley Kicks off Expedition for Arnot and Morton

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Facebook | Misericordia's Hearts & Flour Bakery's Photos - We're Fans!

DBT-working on Flickr - Photo Sharing!:

Dewey Beach to host Drive-By Truckers | Pulp Culture

Drive-By Truckers/Lucero | 04.03 | Philly on JamBase

Drive-By Truckers live in concert: Photos of Drive-By Truckers live in concert - Eye Tunes

Road Tested | My Secret Boston - StumbleUpon

Five Records With… Patterson Hood : Sounds Country:
"I had the opportunity to interview Patterson Hood about some records that keep him going. I covered his band, the Drive-By Truckers’ latest record The Big To Do here. Five Records is an occasional feature of artists talking about the music that inspires them. Read more of these posts here."
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Day 2: Braves season, Heyward mania resume | Atlanta Braves:
"♣ Diversions: Picked up a couple of excellent CDs last week, the new, interesting, partly spoken-word CD by the godfather of hip-hop, Gil-Scott Heron, and the most recent release by Alabama garage-rockers the Dexateens, a CD called Singlewide. It’s the first one I’ve heard of theirs in a few years, for some unknown reason. Talk about underrated bands. The Dexateens have been around for many years and absolutely rock, but don’t seem to get much attention from the music press. They should. Try ‘em out if you haven’t. The Drive-By Truckers aren’t the only vital band from Alabama.
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Check out the DBT shout-out at 1:30. Nice tune, too:



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Brent is Best

Between Love and Like: Slobberbone/Drams' Brent Best Wanting to DIY Next Solo Record With Fan Donations



Music

We love the Hold Steady... but COME ON, COLBERT! Before you've had DBT on?!? You've been to Colbert County, for fuck's sake.

The Hold Steady on Letterman & Colbert Report & New Members on JamBase:
"The Hold Steady will perform on The Late Show with David Letterman on Friday, April 30, and sit down for an interview as well as perform on The Colbert Report Thursday, May 14. The band will play songs from their new album Heaven Is Whenever, out May 4 on Vagrant Records."
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That it is, baby. Can't wait for her new record.

It’s just Roast and Potatoes baby! | Epicurean Musician

Rocket Fuel - punk, ska, indie music podcast // rocketfuelpodcast@gmail.com:
"Welcome to the latest installment of Rocket Fuel! On this episode I play great new jams from Four Year Strong, Streetlight Manifesto, Crime In Stereo and much more. I also interview Joe Kneiser from Glossary and review the new album To Bed To Battle by Look Mexico."
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James McMurtry's Blog on Blurt Online:
"This guy, Rick Bass, wanted to do a piece on me for 'Gun and Garden', which sounds like it should have a sister publication called 'Tarp and Shovel'."
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Clean Bill Of Health? | GRAMMY.com:
"Framed in music terms, the U.S. healthcare debate has unfolded like an epic battle of the bands. For nearly a century politicians, doctors and private insurers have riffed on the subject, with each side hoping their proposed healthcare solutions would capture the grand prize of public approval. With the recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the debate continues and among the topics is how this historic legislation will impact the music community."
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Idiots

The Entertainment Industry's Dystopia of the Future | Electronic Frontier Foundation:
"In other words, the entertainment industry thinks consumers should voluntarily install software that constantly scans our computers and identifies (and perhaps deletes) files found to be 'infringing.' It's hard to believe the industry thinks savvy, security-conscious consumers would voluntarily do so. But those who remember the Sony BMG rootkit debacle know that the entertainment industry is all too willing to sacrifice consumers at the altar of copyright enforcement."
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The Associated Press: NC prosecutor: Nelson band member charges pending:
"KENANSVILLE, N.C. — A North Carolina prosecutor says he still plans to prosecute six members of guitarist and singer Willie Nelson's band on drug and alcohol charges.
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Whoa, Kenny. More work done than Dolly.

Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers Reteam For Rogers' Show (PHOTOS)

What English Sounds Like to Foreigners is Todays BIG Thing in Music - NOV 03, 2009 - StumbleUpon

Amen:

Green Day singer tells Bill Maher: ‘Religion is a bunch of bullsh*t’ | Raw Story

Stupid Fight � Tom Scott

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Via Peter Grumbine



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Thursday, April 15, 2010

"Race" Means "Class"

Of all the domestic gripes that I have, Obama's foreign policy and counter-terrorism efforts have been excellent.

You won't hear about it on the TV or read about it dead tree news. They're too busy covering 3k Tbaggers flinging spittle and drawing silly mustaches on pictures of Obama.

The Washington Monthly:
"I realize conservatives don't want to talk about this story, which is probably why major media outlets aren't paying much attention to it.

But that's a shame because when it comes to counter-terrorism, this is a big f'in deal. Here we had a serious terrorist threat -- arguably the most important since 9/11 -- and an al Qaeda recruit who was poised to kill a lot of people. Obama administration officials thwarted Zazi's plan, took him into custody, read him his rights, and gave him a lawyer.

And the results couldn't have been better for the United States. Zazi will spend the rest of his life behind bars, but only after cooperating with federal officials and becoming a valuable source of intelligence.

If Republicans really want to debate the efficacy of Obama's counter-terrorism policies, we can start right here."
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Back to domestic issues.

Damn right! A VERY liberal SCJ. I don't think Obama can screw his base any more without effectively ending his presidency. Enough is enough with the cutesy-by-half baby splitting.

Elections have consequences. We've yet to reap any of those consequences.

Daily Kos: Anything short of a liberal Supreme Court nominee is unacceptable:
"Sorry, but progressives are owed big time for electing a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress and sweeping Obama into the White House. After being brushed aside, and certainly after seeing the damage that extremists on the Supreme Court have done, another 'well qualified nominee' who doesn’t further progressive causes is completely unacceptable and should be viewed as nothing short of giving the finger to progressives.

On the flip side, it is a GREAT way to use political capital in a way to motivate a base that is becoming more apathetic as each blow-off occurs."
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Noted:

Democratic Strategist:
"The Republican right has a deeply disturbing covert extremist agenda for the Supreme Court – end the separation of church and state, undermine the legality of Social Security and Medicare and give individuals the right to ignore any laws they choose."
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Anyone who doesn't think it is a GREAT idea to try these bastards in the city of New York is simply not being genuine.

NYC deserves to try these SOBs. In a civil court, dammit.

Holder says NYC not ‘off the table’ for trying 9/11 suspects | Raw Story:
"'New York is not off the table,' Holder said. 'The Southern District of New York, for instance, is a much larger place than simply Manhattan.'"
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Of course. Teabaggers don't really have a problem with the green as much as they have a problem with the black.

You Don't Really Hate Paying Your Taxes:
"For all the grousing about taxes these days, a new survey concludes that it's doing taxes rather than paying them that really rankles.

A plurality of Americans think they're paying about the right amount in taxes, and a significant majority say they're paying the fair amount.

There is widespread agreement that the rich and corporations are paying too little in taxes. And a majority of Americans think the Bush tax cuts helped the rich the most and should be eliminated

Americans are also vastly more concerned right now about unemployment and the economy than they are about taxes -- or deficits, for that matter."
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Daily Kos: New York Times: "Race" Means "Class":
"Their fierce animosity toward Washington, and the president in particular, is rooted in deep pessimism about the direction of the country and the conviction that the policies of the Obama administration are disproportionately directed at helping the poor rather than the middle class or the rich."
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NY Tea Party gov. candidate sent videos of bestiality, pics of Obama as pimp | Raw Story

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Way to taint your brand, Discovery/TLC.

Cenk Uygur: Discovery Channel Insider: Sarah Palin's Show Is "a New All Time Low for Discovery":
"Last week Discovery had its annual sales conference for ad buyers for all of its 13 networks. The presentation showcases all of their new shows across the different networks. That night the presentation was on Sarah Palin's Alaska.

Our source says 'the whole thing [was] comical.' Apparently the ad buyers were not impressed. This Discovery insider said, 'When the promo was over, people (employees and buyers) were rolling their eyes, snickering, and even laughing. People were laughing and it's not even a comedy. No one took it seriously.'

This person was concerned that given the lack of interest from ad buyers that Discovery would have to dump the show to 'a crappy time slot' to cut its losses. They added, 'Bottom line everyone thought it was a new all time low for Discovery. My guess is the show is going to tank big time.'"
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Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Fundies Ain't No Fun

This one will get you thinking. Very interesting take.

Ronald Wilson Obama - The Week:
"With his 2012 election victory, Barack Obama has secured a progressive hegemony in American politics reminiscent of the conservative one engendered by Ronald Reagan a generation ago. Both men arrived at their second term landslides following a remarkably similar path."
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Yeah, we'll the dirty hippies have been shouting this obvious comparison for years now. I'm glad an excommunicated Republican finally shed some light on the obvious.

Daily Kos: Heretic David Frum's blog equates American Fundamentalists with Taliban:
"...how the religious fundamentalists in Afghanistan are strikingly similar to religious fundamentalists in America – who are also trying to force their literal interpretation of Holy Scripture onto everyone else through laws.
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In news of 'no-shit':

Elves convene at the North Pole with no mention of Christmas:

Republicans convene in New Orleans, with no mention of Katrina - Ben Smith - POLITICO.com

No-shit:

Beck admits he doesn’t give ‘a flying crap about the political process. … We’re an entertainment company.’

Really? No-shit?

George W. Bush 'knew Guant�namo prisoners were innocent' - Times Online

No fracking shit:

Ron Paul: President Obama Is Not A Socialist | TPMDC:
"'The question has been raised about whether or not our president is a socialist,' Paul said. 'I am sure there are some people here who believe it. But in the technical sense, in the economic definition of a what a socialist is, no, he's not a socialist.'

'He's a corporatist,' Paul continued. 'And unfortunately we have corporatists inside the Republican party and that means you take care of corporations and corporations take over and run the country.'"

No crapola.

Russian President says what distinguishes Obama ‘from many other people’ is that he is ‘a thinker.’:
"STEPHANOPOULOS: Sixteen, OK, I knew it was fifteen, I wasn’t sure about sixteen. What do you make of Barack Obama the man?

MEDVEDEV: [Obama] is a very comfortable partner. It’s very interesting to be with him. The most important thing that distinguishes him from many other people, I won’t name anyone by name, he’s a thinker. He thinks when he speaks.

STEPHANOPOULOS: (laughing) You have somebody in your mind, I think!

MEDVEDEV: Obviously I do have someone on my mind, I don’t want to offend anyone."
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Nothing to see here folks. Al Gore invented the internet... and is fat:

Huge Glacier Breaks Apart In Peru, Triggering Andes Tsunami (VIDEO)

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Like a Handshake

This is a great read and sums up most of my thoughts on the matter. However, I am of the school that progressives and liberals need to play even dirtier.

Playing nice will get us killed. Literally.

But, yes, your modern conservative movement is seditious.

None Dare Call It Sedition | OurFuture.org:
"These two events are a wake-up call for progressives. They're telling us that it's time to openly confront the fact that conservatives have spent the past 40 years systematically delegitimizing the very idea of constitutional democracy in America. When they're in power, they mismanage it and defund it. When they're out of power, they refuse to participate in running the country at all -- indeed, they throw all their energy into thwarting the democratic process any way they can. When they need to win an election, they use violent, polarizing, eliminationist language against their opponents to motivate their base. This is sedition in slow motion, a gradual corrosive undermining of the government's authority and capacity to run the country. And it's been at the core of their politics going all the way back to Goldwater."

Moderates and liberals are responding to this rising threat with feckless calls for "a return to civility," as if all that's needed to put things right again is a stern talking-to from Miss Manners. Though that couldn't hurt, the sad fact is that we're well past the point where it's just a matter of conservatives behaving like tantrum-throwing spoiled brats (which they are). When a mob is surrounding your house with torches and telling you they intend to burn it down, "civility" really isn't the issue any more.

At that point -- and we're there -- criminal intent and action become the real issues. Progressives need to realize that the right began defiantly dancing back and forth over the legal line, daring us to do something about it, quite some time ago. And it's high time we called it out -- and, where appropriate, start prosecuting it -- for exactly what it is.

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Yes, let's let Big Business run our country instead of a government for, of and by the people.

The ‘mind-blowing’ surge of wealth inequality in America - Sahil Kapur - AntiPartisan - True/Slant:
"One of the most understated issues in American political discourse is the surging inequality of income and wealth. The Nation has a chart that sheds light on what’s going on."

Thus the importance of....

Unions To Out-Tea-Party The Tea Party With March On Wall Street:
"A host of union groups and community activists are planning to one-up the anti-Wall Street sentiment commonly associated with the Tea Party movement by actually organizing a massive protest on the streets of downtown Manhattan.

The AFL-CIO is set to orchestrate a 10,000-person 'march on Wall Street' on April 29, designed to push for several broad and specific actions on the financial regulatory reform front."

It’s War: SEIU Starting Third Party In North Carolina | The Plum Line:
"In a shot across the bow of Dems, the labor powerhouse SEIU is starting a new third party in North Carolina that hopes to field its own slate of candidates, part of an effort to make the Democratic Party more reliable on issues important to labor, I’m told.

SEIU officials setting up the new party, called North Carolina First, are currently on the ground collecting signatures to qualify as a state party, SEIU officials tell me, adding that there are around 100 canvassers on the ground right now. The goal: To have the party up and running so candidates can run in this fall’s elections.

It won’t be lost on political observers that three House Dems who voted No on reform are from the state: Heath Shuler, Mike McIntyre, and Larry Kissell."
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Of course he joined in. They have a little color problem.

Mississippi gov joins in: No need to cite slavery when cheering confederacy | Raw Story

Think Progress � Ohio Tea Party Organizer And Father Of Part-Latino Son Threatens To Shoot Latino Immigrants

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Weird group of people. This is what counts as 'funny'?

Christian ‘comedian’ accidentally exposes evils of indoctrination - Stephen C. Webster - Brave New Hooks - True/Slant:
"I was raised very, very Christian. So Christian, in fact, my family wouldn’t even identify their denomination — which is to say, they were in the anti-denomination denomination. They preferred the term “nondenominational.”

Even as a child, I carried an ever-present suspicion that everyone I knew was completely Fucking insane."
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Kinda like a hand shake.... or a pat on the back.

'Clinton-Lewinsky Effect': Study Shows Students' Changing Views Of Oral Sex:
"Sex researchers point to former President Bill Clinton, former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, a notorious blue dress -- and perhaps a cigar -- for a recent study that shows college students are growing more hesitant to call oral sex actual sex.

According to the University of Kentucky study of sexual definitions, only 20 percent of students considered oral-genital contact to be 'sex.' That's about half the number who responded that way in similar 'sex' classification studies in 1991 and 1999-2001."
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50 Hilarious TV Screenshots and Freeze Frames - Urlesque

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Monday, April 12, 2010

Proud of Being Ignorant

Virginia Governor McDonnell was FOR slavery.....

McDonnell: Slavery Wasn’t ‘Significant’ Enough To Be Included In My Proclamation Honoring The Confederacy

BEFORE he was kinda/sorta against slavery.

Virginia... you still have a problem:

PostPartisan - McDonnell backpedals on Confederate History Month:
"Do you pine for the gallantry of the soldiers in grey, affix Confederate flags to your pickup’s antenna and delight in rebel yells at football games? Or do you regard the Confederate cause as a fundamentally racist and treasonous project whose defeat was a blessing? Take your pick: McDonnell’s got a proclamation for each constituency.."
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Rabidly proud of being dumbass. Hate is the only thing that rides shotgun with these folks:

Proud Of Being Ignorant - National - The Atlantic

The GOP is, effectively, the party of willfully unlettered Utopians. It is the party of choice for those who believe global warming is a hoax, that humans roamed the earth with dinosaurs, and that homosexuals should work harder at not being gay.

That the party of unadulterated quackery also believes that Birth Of A Nation is more true to the Civil War than Battle Cry Of Freedom, is to be expected. Ignorance does not respect boundaries. It is, at times, qualified and those who know more, often struggle to say more. But people who believe that the Census is actually a covert attempt to put Americans in concentration camps, are also likely to believe that slavery was incidental to the Civil War.

This is who they are--the proud and ignorant. If you believe that if we still had segregation we wouldn't "have had all these problems," this is the movement for you. If you believe that your president is a Muslim sleeper agent, this is the movement for you. If you honor a flag raised explicitly to destroy this country then this is the movement for you. If you flirt with secession, even now, then this movement is for you. If you are a "Real American" with no demonstrable interest in "Real America" then, by God, this movement of alchemists and creationists, of anti-science and hair tonic, is for you.
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And that willful ignorance yearns to be stoked into violence by the FAUX Propaganda Network:

Charles Alan Wilson Charged With Threatening Sen. Patty Muray's Life:

FBI arrests man for threatening Pelosi | Seattle Times Newspaper

Mom: Son who threatened Pelosi got radical ideas from Fox News | Raw Story:

'Greg frequently gets in with a group of people that have really radical ideas and that are not consistent with myself or the rest of the family, which gets him into problems,' the 83-year-old mother of the accused man, Eleanor Giusti, said. 'I say Fox News, or all of those that are really radical, and he, that's where he comes from.'"
Prosecutor: East TX Man Distributed Pipe Bombs Because Of Anger At Government | TPMMuckraker:
"An East Texas man who federal prosecutors allege left explosive devices including pipe bombs in multiple area mail boxes, was motivated in part by anger at the government,"
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These are the people you want managing your money? Really?

Junior Florida Republican Party staffer had $1.3 million charged to party credit card - St. Petersburg Times:
"She was a 25-year-old junior staffer when the Florida Republican Party gave her an American Express card.

Over the next 2� years, nearly $1.3 million in charges wound up on Melanie Phister's AmEx — $40,000 at a London hotel, and nearly $20,000 in plane tickets for indicted former House Speaker Ray Sansom, his wife and kids, for starters. Statements show thousands spent on jewelry, sporting goods and in one case $15,000 for what's listed as a month-long stay at a posh Miami Beach hotel, but which the party says was a forfeited deposit."
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Think Progress � Tea Party Movement As Popular As Socialism

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I like this guy a lot. He's a badass.

Rodney Glassman: McCain (Or Hayworth) Gets First Serious Democratic Challenger:
"His time in D.C. was limited, as he went back to Arizona to get his PhD in Arid Land resources at the University of Arizona's college of agriculture. But he kept one foot in politics, holding on to his formal duties on the congressman's staff. As if that wasn't enough for his plate, Glassman than pursued a law degree at UofA, during which a spot on the Tucson City Council opened up. Persuaded to run for the post, he left Girjalva's office and announced his candidacy. That was 2006, his second year of law school.

The actual election took place in 2007 and his admission to the Arizona Bar took place in May 2008. Still, apparently, not internally satisfied, he decided to join the Air Force to become a JAG -- a challenge in its own right, but made even harder by the fact that officials told him he had to lose 60 pounds to qualify. He did it. In six months."
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Because that is exactly how the Republicans want it:

When Did the Senate Become Such a Lonely, Cynical Place? -- New York Magazine

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Yes, this was 100% a political prosecution. Will anyone be held accountable? Come on, now. This is 'Merica! We don't do 'accountability'.

Ethics Complaint Alleges New Politicized Probe Involving Siegelman Prosecutor | TPMMuckraker:
"A U.S. attorney in Alabama whose close ties to local Republicans were at the heart of previous high-profile charges of politicized justice is drawing scrutiny again. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department received a formal complaint alleging that an investigation being run in part by U.S. attorney Leura Canary was intended to influence the vote on an upcoming bill in the statehouse, and asking that Canary be removed from the probe because of her 'close political ties' to Governor Bob Riley.

This isn't the first time that Canary's ties to Riley and Alabama Republicans have generated controversy. Numerous observers have charged that the prosecution by Canary's office of former governor Don Siegelman, who in 2006 was convicted on corruption charges, was politically motivated. Canary's husband, Bill Canary, a top Alabama GOP political consultant and associate of Karl Rove, ran Riley's 2002 gubernatorial campaign against Siegelman, a Democrat."
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Really hope the FCC pulls the trigger here. These are 'We the people's airways and lines these asshole companies are using. We LET them use them.

FCC loses key ruling on Internet `neutrality':

The more likely scenario, Scott believes, is that the agency will simply reclassify broadband as a more heavily regulated telecommunications service. That, ironically, could be the worst-case outcome from the perspective of the phone and cable companies.

'Comcast swung an ax at the FCC to protest the BitTorrent order,' Scott said. 'And they sliced right through the FCC's arm and plunged the ax into their own back.'"
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Teabaggers still up in bare arms about this:

Forbidden Images: Movie Montage Of Censored Images From 1920s And 30s (VIDEO)

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I lived half a block from Louis' for 3 years and went probably once... because it was always so packed, you couldn't get in. Great views, though.

The Scavenger : Louis' diner ... close? Nooo!!!!

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