Friday, April 29, 2011

DBT Week in Review - 4/29/11

Alabama Tornadoes

Please consider helping with the devastation caused by the 4/27 tornadoes in Alabama and across the Southeast.

Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or text "REDCROSS" to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

If you live in Alabama and find pictures or documents, please send them to this Facebook page. These folks are doing a great thing:

Pictures and Documents found after the April 27, 2011 Tornadoes

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DBT!

Wes Freed:

6 Things You Should Know About Making a Great Album Cover | The Smoking Jacket

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UK - Ireland Go-Go Boots Tour Poster


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Sound Opinions Footnotes

sooppodshow282.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object)

New Wave Magic: Thank You Drive-By Truckers

Interview: Drive By Truckers' Patterson Hood - "Go-Go Boots" - Premier Guitar

Honest Tune Online - Drive-By Truckers : The Secret to a Happy Ending

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

al.com: Birmingham : Jason Isbell Rests In Alabama

Music of the Month: April | CulturePOP

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Music

Oskar Blues is owned and operated by Florence, Alabama native Dale Katechis.

Foo Fighters Perform A Private Garage Concert In Lyons (VIDEO):
"Oskar Blues Grill and Brew restaurant in Lyons hosted the Foo Fighters for a private concert in the Barn on Monday. The Barn, next to the restaurant, used to be the brewery's old canning facility."
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Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

'Fight For Your Right Revisited': Beastie Boys' Short Film In Full (VIDEO)

Chuck and The Band on Vimeo

Ex-Sony chief, father of the CD, dies | The Raw Story

Malaco singing new tune after tornado | Hattiesburg American | hattiesburgamerican.com

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Snip-Snip-Not

It only costs 1.5 mil a year. Austerity kills.

SETI forced to shut down search for alien life | The Raw Story:
"Operating the telescope array costs about $1.5 million a year, according to The Associated Press.

SETI has other telescope arrays at its disposal, but the Allen Telescope Array is the biggest and, unlike other facilities, is dedicated to the institute's operations.

The shutdown comes after NASA announced that its space telescope Kepler had discovered 1,235 new possible planets, some of which were in the 'habitable zone,' where liquid water could exist.

'There is a huge irony that a time when we discover so many planets to look at, we don't have the operating funds to listen,' SETI Director Jill Tarter told Mercury News."
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Sure. Why not.

Circumcision ban a step closer to the ballot : City Insider

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Just go listen to some new Beastie Boys.

Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys on SoundCloud

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Monday, April 25, 2011

Guts

The 2nd picture of the volcano erupting is amazing:

NASA Celebrates Earth Day With Stunning Photos Of, You Guessed It...Earth | TPM Photo Galleries

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Very interesting. Football teams as socialist commies.

The Science Behind College-Football Helmet Stickers | Playbook:
"When small rewards become visible trophies of status within a group, male players change their approach in competition, sacrificing their own best interest to serve the needs of the team."
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As with blood, several types of human gut | The Raw Story

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Can. Not. Wait.

Behind The Scenes Of The Hobbit [VIDEO]

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Thursday, April 21, 2011

DBT Week in Review - 4/22/11

Eyes Above It

Check out my new project. Full website to accompany the social media sites in the works.

Eyes Above it:

http://www.facebook.com/EyesAboveIt

http://www.twitter.com/EyesAboveIt

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DBT!


Drive-By Truckers perform on Sound Opinions | WBEZ

QRO Magazine - Album Reviews � Drive-By Truckers : Go-Go Boots

Jack McBrayer and Drive-By Truckers Big To-Do Monkey Slate T-Shirt - Coolspotters

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Lera Lynn

You gotta get Lera Lynn's new record if you don't have it. Fabu.

LERA LYNN // HAPPY EVER AFTER on Vimeo

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NQ Arbuckle

My favorite Canadian band, who will be opening a show for DBT later this year, doing a couple of in-studio songs.

CMT.ca : Country Music Television : The Dakota Sessions

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Machinery of the Night

Muscle Shoals Electronica? Damn right.

Machinery of the Night :: Muscle Shoals Electronica

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Glossary

Glossary will be performing at Secret Stages in AL. This line-up is incredible. Thanks to jeremyarc7 on Twitter for the heads. up.

Lineup | Secret Stages 2011

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Music

Snoop Dogg urges fellow artists to 'tweet' : SFGate: Daily Dish:
"He says, 'I feel it's the number one key in music right now. Having that relationship with fans where it's not based on your record label, it's based on you. When you are tweeting, it's not about what label you're on, it's about you dealing with your fans directly."
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Massoud Abu Assir, Libyan Rebel Guitarist Plays On Outskirts Of Ajdabiya

David Kusek: Musicians May Be Owed Billions in Unpaid Digital Music Royalties

PBR Fixie Up For Grabs | Uptown Almanac

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Nutz

I not used to it at all. Nor should anyone else be used to it.

Arianna Huffington: Barack Obama's Memento Presidency:
"We got used to the president making strong promises and then caving -- from closing Guantanamo to not extending the Bush tax cuts for millionaires. Now he's making strong promises he's already broken. He's like a political version of the Guy Pearce character in Memento -- he's figured out a way to break promises outside of the limitations of linear time."
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h/t Dick Cooper:

How Socialists Built America | The Nation
Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy were not socialists. But the nation benefited from their borrowing of socialist and social democratic ideas. Barack Obama is certainly not a socialist. But he, and the nation he leads, would be well served by a similar borrowing from the people who once imagined Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the War on Poverty.
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Doomed to repeat. Fascinating.

On Stones in Japan, Tsunami Warnings — Aneyoshi Journal - NYTimes.com:
"ANEYOSHI, Japan — The stone tablet has stood on this forested hillside since before they were born, but the villagers have faithfully obeyed the stark warning carved on its weathered face: “Do not build your homes below this point!”"
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WTF, Apple?

iSpy Conspiracy: Your iPhone Is Secretly Tracking Everywhere You've Been | TPM Idea Lab

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Ah. Yeah.

Someone Finally Fulfilled My Dream of Knowing What a Squirrel Wearing Acorn Bling Would Look Like | Uptown Almanac

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Bridge Tower

Shining a light on the motherland today.

Never gonna happen. Not in SF. Nope.

SF Mayor Ed Lee enters nightclub rules fight:
"If the San Francisco Police Department had its way, every single person who went into a club in the city would have her picture taken and ID scanned as she walked in the door."
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Once completed, this bridge will be a jaw-dropper.

The new Bay Bridge tower grew to 495 feet as - Media (1 of 8) Bay Bridge tower sees 500-ton piece go up

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Two teens in the past couple of weeks have survived. The odds are lottery-like.

Teen survives Golden Gate Bridge fall

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I love this river.

Russian River has ally and advocate | PressDemocrat.com

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Must go to Spain.

Inside Scoop SF � San Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants announced: Noma tops again; El Bulli, French Laundry absent from Top 50

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Let's Not Be Civil

Starting off with Krugman and Stiglitz today.

FINALLY! Damn right.

Let’s Not Be Civil - NYTimes.com:
"So let’s not be civil. Instead, let’s have a frank discussion of our differences. In particular, if Democrats believe that Republicans are talking cruel nonsense, they should say so — and take their case to the voters."
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Look up the etymology of the term 'heads will roll'.

Society | Vanity Fair:
"Alexis de Tocqueville once described what he saw as a chief part of the peculiar genius of American society—something he called “self-interest properly understood.” The last two words were the key. Everyone possesses self-interest in a narrow sense: I want what’s good for me right now! Self-interest “properly understood” is different. It means appreciating that paying attention to everyone else’s self-interest—in other words, the common welfare—is in fact a precondition for one’s own ultimate well-being. Tocqueville was not suggesting that there was anything noble or idealistic about this outlook—in fact, he was suggesting the opposite. It was a mark of American pragmatism. Those canny Americans understood a basic fact: looking out for the other guy isn’t just good for the soul—it’s good for business.

The top 1 percent have the best houses, the best educations, the best doctors, and the best lifestyles, but there is one thing that money doesn’t seem to have bought: an understanding that their fate is bound up with how the other 99 percent live. Throughout history, this is something that the top 1 percent eventually do learn. Too late."
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The real parasites, indeed.

When Alan Met Ayn: "Atlas Shrugged" And Our Tanked Economy | The Awl:
"For those who are inclined to find such ideas ludicrous, the book will fail, and utterly; its premises betray a bottomless ignorance of the deep interconnectedness of humankind, and the needs—economic, social, emotional, intellectual—of one human being for another. In the real world, someone is growing lettuce, someone else is writing a book or feeding a baby, yet another is designing the rails of a high-speed train. Someone else is teaching six-year-olds to read. All of us benefit from all of these activities—sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly. Each life can and does touch many thousands of others. The idea of the Nietszchean Superman who acts against his fellows (whom Rand called 'the mob' and 'looters' and whatnot) is consequently fatally flawed. Not even the Superest Superman can grow all his own food, make all his own paper, design and build his own cars and airplanes, etc. (Hadn't Rand ever read Robinson Crusoe?) Humanity is a collaborative project, as well as a project of individuals."
.....
"The real parasites, it turns out, are not the looting masses but the Objectivist elites (what is it that these hedge fund managers 'create' again?), rabidly pursuing their own 'happiness' at the cost of our social safety net, our environment and the prosperity and well-being of the world's people. So much for the triumph of individualism."
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AMERICAblog News: Conservative David Frum: Two cheers for the welfare state:
"If food stamps and unemployment insurance, and Medicaid'--an Axis of Not-Evil!--'mitigated those disasters, then two cheers for food stamps, unemployment insurance, and Medicaid.'"
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Wait for it...

The scariest car crash ever caught on video was real

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Duh.

Cursing makes you feel better when hurt: study | The Raw Story

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Monday, April 18, 2011

Sounds

Credit where credit is due.

House Democrats Punk Republicans On Budget Vote (VIDEO)

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Make no mistake... this was no mistake. Campaign has begun.

Obama remarks caught by open mic - Los Angeles Times

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Words, words, words.

AMERICAblog News: Candidate Obama vs. President Obama

Me, I'll go back to my Grand Bargain drinking game. See the part in the Krugman quote about letting the Bush tax cuts expire? Never gonna happen. See those defense cuts? Never gonna happen, not in any non-cosmetic way. He's had two years to do lots of stuff like that, and folded on all of it. Never gonna happen.

I think the target of this speech wasn't the nation — but us, the rebellious left. I think the political geniuses in the White House finally got scared of losing the base. Finally. So they retired President Obama for one inning and brought out Candidate Obama to pinch hit. Candidate Obama can put one over the fence.

So my take-away is two-fold:

We had an effect; I think we changed the speech. Don't forget that. This is one thing we can learn from the Teabags. Finally, a small but noticeable liberal victory. It's been like forever since one of those.

This is just a speech — "Words, words, words" to quote the Bard. We've seen this act before. In fact, it's been the great one-two punch of this administration; Candidate says this, President does that. So stay rebellious until you get what you want, until the action matches the promise. That's the other thing we can learn from the Teabags.
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What The Japan Earthquake Sounded Like... Underwater (AUDIO) | TPM Idea Lab

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Friday, April 15, 2011

DBT Week in Review - 4/15/11

DBT!

Wes Freed poster for the DBT - Plan 9 - Record Store Day In-store performance tomorrow in Charlottesville, VA.



Wes is also holding a ticket and meet and greet passes contest on his Facebook page today:

Wes Freed

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Hey y'all...Shonna...:
"Hey y'all...Shonna Tucker of the DRIVE BY TRUCKERS will be my guest on KZFR 90.1 FM Tuesday, April 19th @ 11:30 am pacific time. Tune in to hear her recipe for Drunken Carrots she submitted to the MUSIC IN THE KITCHEN Cookbook by Glenda Facemire...Austin City Limits makeup artist for 23 years. You know she got up front and personal with the singers."
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Interview: Drive By Truckers' Patterson Hood - "Go-Go Boots" - Premier Guitar

Aquarium Drunkard � Patterson Hood :: Eddie Hinton’s Mighty Field of Vision

Darkness Calls the Drive-By Truckers | Features | Charleston City Paper

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Jay Gonzalez, ladies and gentlemen:



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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jambands.com - Need We Say More?- Reviews- CDs - Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Here We Rest

“So many degrees between success and failure”: An interview with Jason Isbell on recording, touring and life after Drive-By Truckers : KDHX Blog

Review: Mellow Vibe for Isbell on 'Here We Rest' - ABC News

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Fiddleworms

Please participate in this Kickstarter created by Shoals band Fiddleworms. It will be an integration of music, media and art and include the likes of Corey Hannah and Browan Lollar.

Fiddleworms "See the Light" by Fiddleworms — Kickstarter

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Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil

Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil help music's roots revival | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Lera Lynn

I'm thoroughly immersed in Lera Lynn's debut record 'Have You Met Lera Lynn'. If I was the type to write record reviews I would write and extremely glowing one.

As I was searching for more Lera Lynn stuff on Soundcloud I came across the below. I have some background in dance/house music. This is a great ambient electronic pop piece that Lera lend her vocals to.

For Real feat. Lera Lynn 3.29.11 ROUGH by Flight Risk on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

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David Lowery/Cracker/Camper

David Lowery Recalls Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven Video - ABC News

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Music

Patterson turned me on to the Welch/Rollins original of this song. Grace and the Nocturnals own it here:

Relix - Video - Live at Relix - Grace Potter & the Nocturnals "Elvis Presley Blues"

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EXCLUSIVE Interview: Dave Grohl on Cutting the New Foo Fighters Album's Master Tape to Pieces--and Giving Them Away to the Fans - Los Angeles Music - West Coast Sound

Charlie Crist Apologizes In Settling Lawsuit With Byrne Over Campaign Song (VIDEO)

Donna Edwards Deploys White Stripes For Garage Rock Testimonial Against Shutdown

Jeff Buckley Movie: Late Rocker Getting Biopic

Oklahoma-born Muslim fights hate with country music�|�Raw Replay

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

The People's Budget

The People's Budget presented by the Democrats' largest caucus; The Progressive Caucus.

Negotiations should begin here and not budge a freaking inch.

Introducing the People's Budget
"# Reduces unemployment—and thus the deficit—through extensive investment in infrastructure, clean energy, transportation and education;

# Ends almost all the Bush tax cuts, creates new tax brackets for millionaires and new fees on Wall Street;

# Full American military withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan, along with other reductions in military spending;

# Ends subsidies for non-renewable energy;

# Lowers health care costs through a public option and negotiating Rx payments with pharmaceutical companies;

# Raises the taxable maximum on Social Security."
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So, Obama's speech yesterday... yep, lots of words. Heard it all before only to see the action be contrary to the words. His speeches mean shite. Let's see what he does (not holding my breath).

Krugman's take:

The Budget Speech - NYTimes.com:
"Update: I should probably say, I could live with this as an end result. If this becomes the left pole, and the center is halfway between this and Ryan, then no — better to pursue the zero option of just doing nothing and letting the Bush tax cuts as a whole expire."
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On my list for potential write-in candidates in '12. Love this guy. He fights.

Daily Kos: Schweitzer burns GOP with red-hot cattle iron

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"But the rich folks walked to the woods where my daddy stayed...."

Domestic call leads to whiskey still | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Washington works just fine

I wonder which Republican policies our 'Democratic (haha)' President will champion today. Do your back exercises and stretches, because we will most certainly be hauling the load on our backs.

No look at all these non-pragmatic, non-serious, pie-in-the-sky-ers. Change is not perceptible, Hippies!

Newly Released Spending Deal Targets Health, Environment, Energy | TPMDC

Six-month spending bill unveiled: What's cut and what's not - TheHill.com

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Ouch, ouch and ouch.

Rep. DeFazio: Obama should ‘act like a Democrat’�|�Raw Replay

Cornel West: Obama is ‘another black mascot’ of ‘Wall Street oligarchs:
"Princeton professor and famed black intellectual Cornel West has long been a supporter of President Barack Obama, but he’s recently changed his tune."
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Obama’s constitutional law professor joins group calling Manning’s treatment illegal:
"The Harvard professor who taught President Barack Obama about America's founding document has added his name to a letter damning the treatment of U.S. Army Private Bradley Manning, the lone soldier accused of leaking a vast number of government secrets to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks.
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Obama Is Missing - NYTimes.com:
"What have they done with President Obama? What happened to the inspirational figure his supporters thought they elected? Who is this bland, timid guy who doesn’t seem to stand for anything in particular?"
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Daily Kos: From change agent to dealmaker:
"Instead of being the public leader, the transformational leader, that many of us expected, the leader he campaigned to be, he's shrunk. He's just become another Washington insider playing the insider game. The insider game has him making choices between shutting down the government and stepping on the poor. The insider game has him choosing between tax cuts for the wealthy or declaring war on the unemployed middle class. The insider game has convinced him there is almost nothing he can do about the housing crisis. The insider game has him appointing a corporate CEO who ships jobs overseas as the head of his domestic jobs council. The insider game has him appointing the very same people who ran the economy into the ground as his principal economic advisers. He told us of a Washington that was broken, but he was quite mistaken. Washington works just fine. Just not for regular people."
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DC For Obama Furious Over Budget Deal:
"Barr said his grassroots group, which is not affiliated with Obama's official campaign, knocked on more than 100,000 doors for Obama in Virginia ahead of the 2008 election. Barr said more than 250 people had already signed up for an April 28 campaign launch party.

Barr's enthusiasm has faded. 'We may end up postponing indefinitely,' Barr said. 'We may also just hold it and use that time as strategy to fight back against the White House and Congress.'"
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Surprise, surprise: rich get richer - The Boston Globe:
"THIS IS the biggest stickup in American history."
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The Real Housewives of Wall Street | Rolling Stone Politics

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I couldn't agree with this post more and this is why I will not vote for any Democrats in 2012. Give. It. Too. Them. instead of this bullshit slow-burn of the same policies that Obama and Congressional Dems (haha) are applying.

AMERICAblog News: Maybe it is time to let the GOP destroy the economy
My income is less than half what it was before the recession. And I know people that have been looking for a job for a year. It's tough out there. But at some point, maybe we have to consider whether we're going about this all the wrong way.

If the Republicans want to make a political/electoral issue out of the debt ceiling, then let's not raise it. Hand the keys to the legislation, to to speak, to Boehner and McConnell, and tell them it's their choice whether the legislation passes. And when it doesn't pass, and the world economy melts down, no one will elect a Republican for decades to come.

I'm simply tired of dealing with Democrats who don't have half a brain or half a backbone, and Republicans who would rather demagogue, and lie, than fix the country.

Why keep paying ransom to the hostage takers?

Maybe it's time to simply let Atlas shrug.
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I was at the beach 3 years ago when this artist was creating a beach mural. Same time this couple went. Very cool.

Sand-Written Wedding Proposal Mystery Solved! - Yahoo! News

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Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Rest and Sandwiches

Congrats to Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit on their record release today.

'Here We Rest' is available at local record stores as well as online outlets.

Browan Lollar's cover artwork is particularly inspired.

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit



Monday, April 11, 2011

Apologists are a threat to all of us

So, yeah. Another Friday, another complete capitulation. A horrible 'deal' that screws much of the U.S..

2011 is not 1995 - Ezra Klein - The Washington Post:
"The substance of this deal is bad. But the way Democrats are selling it makes it much, much worse."
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Daily Kos: Ignore this Mr. President. You already ignore me.:
"Here I am doing my civic duty, working on my taxes. I am paying my fair share.

My wife and I gave you money when you ran for President. We supported you.

But now? Blow, after blow, after blow.

The 'deal' about which you bragged is perhaps the final straw for this camel, whose back is breaking at the same time as his heart is shattered."
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Progressives Must Stand up to the President:
"You can ignore this, blame me and go hug the president one more time, but you won't be doing your side any favors. If you actually care about policy and progressive priorities, you must get tough with the president right now. There is no next time."
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The apologists are a threat to all of us.:
"That pragmatism, by the way, is a joke. It's a loser attitude, the idea that you should push for what's reasonable instead of what you want. Give up on your ideals, they tell us, they're not realistic with Congress being Republican controlled. Obama is just a man, so overlook the repeated insults and dismissals of who we are and what we stand for. So what's our reasonable demand? What have WE gotten in the budget compromises? That list of things Obama has done for progressives is disingenuous, neatly sidestepping all of the things that were taken away from us and touting minor concessions as major accomplishments."
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AMERICAblog News: Lessons in how NOT to negotiate, courtesy of your President. Lesson 1: Don't accept the other guy's opening offer.:
"So, the White House strategy of negotiating with Republicans really is to give them what they want. In case we missed the point, Obama repeated it:

And I just want to set the context for this now. Again, I’m going to repeat. Speaker Boehner, Chairman Rogers, the Republican appropriations chairman -- their original budget proposed $73 billion in cuts. We have now agreed to $73 billion worth of cuts.

Got that?

What law school did Obama attend? Was he absent when they studied negotiations? That has to be the worst negotiating tactic around."
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Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Snuffed Out, Going Nowhere

Read this accurate and bloody sad essay.

H/T BB:

When Pigs Rule | Common Dreams:
"Silence is far too generous a label of contempt to apply to the Democratic Party. We are well past the point of acknowledging their complete complicity in the crime. Hardly anyone noticed in the 1990s, when New Democrats (a euphemism for old Republicans) stopped talking about the plight of the poor, even before Bill Clinton finished the job by killing welfare, reaching into the mouths of America’s impoverished and removing the food that was once there, all for purposes of guaranteeing his second term as president (and, boy wasn’t it worth it, too – look at all he achieved!). If you weren’t alive in the 1960s and 70s, you might never have realized that there was once a party in America that was rather seriously devoted to fighting a war against poverty. By the 1990s the poor became an embarrassment, and among slick New Democrats in Washington only gauche political retreads continued to remind us of their existence and plight, becoming every bit as welcome among the elites as Grandpa’s incessant flatulence at a formal dinner party."
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From the Professor (Nobel Earner)

The Threat Within - NYTimes.com:
"But Barack Obama is now the party’s leader. And let’s be frank: Obama still, after all that has happened, seems devoted to the dream of transcending partisanship, a dream he tries to serve by being nice to Republican ideas no matter how terrible those ideas are. (I did warn about this during the primaries — just saying.)

The great danger now is that Obama — with the help of a fair number of Senate Democrats — will kill Medicare in the name of civility and outreach.

This doesn’t have to happen. Republicans have, in fact, offered Democrats a huge political opportunity — much as Bush did in 2005. But I’m sorry, I have no confidence in the current leadership’s willingness to do the right thing, even when it’s also politically smart."
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Obama is doing exactly what he wants done. These aren't failures. He is acting with purpose. He represents his corporate lords.

He's fighting. Just not for me or you.

AMERICAblog News: Are you feeling fired up?:
"And now? This time, I find myself having to make intellectual contortions to make the case. I think: What could the slogan be this time?

'Change you can believe in: As long as you don't expect ME to get out front and make a forceful argument for it.'

'Change you can believe in: As long as the GOP and the Chamber of Commerce approve.'

'Change you can believe in: As long as it doesn't really challenge the power of Wall Street or inconvenience the wealthy.'

Yeah, I know just writing this is going to earn me the flames of all you Democratic pragmatists out there. You'll argue that Mr. Obama did what he could given the difficult circumstances. Silly me for thinking there is real value and power in idealism, or that failing to consistently and forcefully challenge the ideological framing set by one's opponents is what making real change requires."
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In a fantasy world...

Daily Kos: The Answer to Rachel Maddow's Question

You may label us any way you like, but we will fight for Social Security, we will defend Medicare and Medicaid, and we will not cease until the middle classes have jobs, people are safe in their homes, and our schools are educating our children.

We will not stop until the hungry are fed, and the sick are healed. We will defend the nurses, the teachers, law enforcement and fire-fighters and we will do it because we believe that THEY are the real Americans.

Call us Socialists, call us whatever you want, because we are calling Americans and we are telling them not what they can do for their country, they already know that. We are telling them what their country is doing for them, and we are telling them that you, the Republicans, are calling that Socialism and trying to take it away from you.

Get yourselves a philosophy, a big idea, a New Deal for America, if you wish, but make it something you believe in, something America believes in ... Then fight for it.

If you continue to be invertebrates, and simply try to be better Republicans than the GOP, and continue to follow the agenda, instead of setting it, then you will lose.

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Tuesday, April 05, 2011

Luckiest Guy

Being better than Republicans is not enough

It's not. And until Democrats/Progressives learn how to fight dirtier/fight-to-win than those other bastards, we'll continue to have our asses handed to us even when we have super-majorities. As it stands now, we don't have anyone fighting for us in D.C.

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Another D.C. hack elevated.

Rhee and the Corporate Takeover of Public Education

The rise, and looming fall, of 'education reformer' Michelle Rhee

In the social sciences, there is an oft-repeated maxim called Campbell’s Law, named after Donald Campbell, a psychologist who studied human creativity. Campbell’s Law states that incentives corrupt. In other words, the more punishments and rewards—such as merit pay—are associated with the results of any given test, the more likely it is that the test’s results will be rendered meaningless, either through outright cheating or through teaching to the test in a way that narrows the curriculum and renders real learning obsolete.
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BobDoleCare sucketh.

Weiner Says SCOTUS Will Rule Against Health Care Law, Paving Way For Public Option | TPMDC

California isn't too far behind. Keep in mind that VT and CA are going this entirely alone. Zilch help or encouragement from D.C. (just a reminder for when they try to take credit). Fuck insurance companies. All of them. Blood sucking SOBs.

Vermont’s Single-Payer Salvation -- In These Times:
"On February 8, newly inaugurated Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin unveiled his plan for a publicly funded single-payer healthcare system, which was introduced into the state’s legislature. If enacted, which appears likely, it will be the first system of its kind in the United States and Vermont would become the first state to abolish most forms of private health insurance.

“In five years, I predict the United States will go through another major debate of how to reform the healthcare system,” Harvard School of Public Health Professor William Hsiao told the state’s legislators in January, noting his belief that the federal reform legislation passed in March 2010 will not solve the nation’s healthcare crisis. “The question for Vermont is, do you want to walk ahead of the United States? Do you want to be a model for the United States?”"
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How to be THE LUCKIEST GUY ON THE PLANET in 4 Easy Steps Altucher Confidential

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Friday, April 01, 2011

DBT Week in Review - 4/1/11

DBT!

Drive By Truckers - Go Go Boots

Drive-By Truckers put on their ‘Go-Go Boots' | Metromix Greenville

OMNIVULTURE: The Dark Humor of Mike Cooley: Subtlety In The Age of LOLs

2nd Annual Haiti Benefit ft. Patterson Hood, David Barbe & the QHs more!

“Go-Go Boots,” The Drive-By Truckers | American Songwriter

Michael Bialas: As the Wheels Turn: The Drive-By Truckers Will Take You for a Ride

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Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, 'Here We Rest' (Lightning Rod) | SPIN.com

Swampland:Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Here We Rest

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Slobberbone

Some new tour dates from Slobberbone

Slobberbone

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Lera Lynn

Lera Lynn finds her voice || OnlineAthens.com

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The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars Quietly Storm The IFC Crossroads House - Music - News - IFC.com

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Booker T. Jones

Booker T. Jones - Representing Memphis (feat. Matt Berninger and Sharon Jones) by antirecords on SoundCloud

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Muscle Shoals Sound

Austerity at work.

Alabama Music Hall of Fame Foundation

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Music

Historical Hideaways: Bill Graham Discusses the 'Old' Fillmore: SFist

Larry Marion: The Lost Beatles Photographs (PHOTOS)

Willie Nelson to dodge jail over pot bust — in exchange for playing a song | The Raw Story

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