To achieve the change the country wants, he says, “we need a leader who can finally move beyond the divisive politics of Washington and bring Democrats, independents and Republicans together to get things done.†But this promise leads, inevitably, to a question: Can such a majority be built and led by Mr. Obama, whose voting record was, by one ranking, the most liberal in the Senate last year?
I love the fact that Robin Toner (or his/her editor) just threw in that “inevitably,” as if it’s just such a commonly accepted piece of wisdom that a liberal politician cannot possibly unify disparate points of view under their banner. It only gets better from there: Full Story »
After the sad event that was John Edwards ending his run for president, I wondered what he would do with himself next. While Clinton and Obama furiously courted him for a blessing, he and his wife, Elizabeth, have largely remained quiet and kept their own counsel. Until now.
Yesterday both John and Elizabeth committed their still-formidable political muscle behind a different campaign–joining the effort to withdraw from Iraq by tying it to our looming recession.
So by now you’ve probably heard that Ralph Nader is once again making a third run for the presidency. It pains me to have to say it, but Nader is making a terrible mistake and further tarnishing his legacy. He should not run.
Let me begin by emphasizing how much I admire Nader and all he has done. As a consumer advocate myself, I probably would not have the career I do if it wasn’t for him. His work on everything from auto safety to the corporate takeover of modern politics should be an inspiration to anyone who wants to stand up for the little guy. I read his book, supported his presidency, and when compared to the stiff mannequin that was Al Gore in 2000 and the incipient stupidity of Dubya, I pulled the lever for him.
But this isn’t 2000. It’s a very different world, and Nader simply refuses to recognize that.
What’s the difference between a skeptic and a cynic?
A skeptic is someone who, when told something, doesn’t immediately believe it to be true and looks deeper into the issue before making their decision.
A cynic is someone who, when told something, automatically assumes it to be false, and doesn’t bother looking any further, because it’s just got to be bullshit.
It’s essential, especially in these times of fear and paranoia, that we maintain a healthy skepticism about what we are told. Full Story »
Pundits are much like birds flocking south for the winter…they travel in large groups, directed a certain way by a few leaders that twist this way and that, directing the rest of the flock to follow. It seems that if you watch the flock, it looks like they have no idea which way they’re going, so willy-nilly and arbitrary are their changes of direction.
And so it is that this week we get no fewer than four distinct flocks flying around this week, each one presenting a very different directional tilt on the topic of whether or not Barack Obama is a candidate for “Generation X,” the “Millenial” generation, both, neither, or something totally different. Full Story »
Last week on SVR we looked at some of 2007’s top female artists, so this week it seemed appropriate to offer props to some of the guys responsible for outstanding CDs this year. We’ll start with CD of the Year candidate The Good, the Bad & the Queen, fronted by former Blur and Gorillaz auteur Damon Albarn, who’s shaping up as one of the true geniuses of our age.
Next, another CD of the Year frontrunner. Full Story »
I saw Elvis Costello two nights ago at (interestingly enough) the Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC (a suburb of Raleigh). It was an excellent show, and if he’d had a better audience, it would have been a great one.
The amphitheater only holds about 2000, so it was a fairly intimate setting for a show. Elvis appeared with the North Carolina Symphony (they played some of his orchestral pieces and provided interesting backup for some of his hits) and Steve Nieve, his original keyboardist from EC and the Attractions. So that was fun.
What I want to talk about, though, is not so much the show itself (though I’ll cover that). I really want to talk about the Elvis Costello I saw versus the guy who first burst onto the hinterland American consciousness in 1978. Full Story »
Today former Virginia governor Mark Warner (a Democrat) announced his plan to run for the Senate seat currently held by retiring Republican John Warner (no relation). Within moments of the announcement, a flamewar broke out among the progressive netroots. Full Story »
I know I’m crazy with the posting today, but I wanted to mention another resignation that will be much less heralded, and much more lamented: Economist and uber-progressive blogger Max Sawicky is hanging it up.
I’m a latecomer to Max’s readership, but his work has inspired me to be a better, stronger writer and blogger. Max told it like it was, never gave an inch, yet was always willing to listen and debate. He put centrist Democrats and the netroots both on notice that being DINOs (Democrats In Name Only) was unacceptable, that simply electing anyone who called themselves a Democrat wasn’t enough, and that progressives had a right to demand more of the so-called “liberal” party than Blue Dogs and slavish adherents to free trade.
When I grow up, I want to be an irascible, cranky, uncompromising, brilliant, eloquent, and still passionate proponent of real progressive change–with a ponytail from New Jersey, just like Max. I’ve got the ponytail and the origins right, but I don’t think I’ll ever match Max’s wit, wisdom, and style.
No one can, really, but Max himself. Come back soon, man.
I think maybe this starts at a Who concert in 1976:
I went to the concert with two musician friends of mine and some women who, for reasons obvious to me at least, shall remain nameless. Toots and the Maytals, one of the great reggae bands, opened the show. In retrospect, they played a nice opening set – what there was of it. We booed them off the stage early.
I always rationalize to myself that it was because they covered John Denver’s execrable “Country Roads” – I mean, who in hell can tolerate “Almost Heaven/West Jamaica” as a lyric? But that wasn’t the real reason we booed them off, pissed off Pete Townshend, and had to wait an extra half-hour for The Who to come out and play an amazing show.
What we wanted was the spectacle. We wanted The Who – rock stars who’d give us a show worthy of our grubbily lofty expectations. It was 1976, after all. No one would want to see authentic musicians like The Maytals playing their music – we wanted the Big Bang.
And The Who delivered – a laser lit , ear ringing spectacle that I have long told anyone who’d listen was the best concert I ever saw…. Full Story »
You may have noticed that Hunter Thompson is back on the masthead. Today would have been The Doctor’s 70th birthday (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005), and we thought it appropriate to honor the memory of a journalist who was an incredible influence on a number of our writers.
I originally wrote the piece below when he died, and since I think it addresses a number of issues that are as important today as they ever were, I’ve chosen to offer it up for reflection.
Happy Birthday, Hunter, wherever you are…
________________
HST: a champion for social justice cashes his check
– I heard the news today, oh boy…
(February 22, 2005) – One of the brightest lights in the American firmament blinked out Sunday. Full Story »
People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend. – Jim Morrison
A new interview with Sam Bernett, close friend of Jim Morrison, in that bastion of serious journalism, The Mail, offers a wild new account of the death of the 2nd most overrated rock musician of all time®.
Bernett claims in the exclusive interview that Morrison died of a heroin overdose in a toilet at The Rock and Roll Circus, a Paris night club. Here’s what supposedly happened: Full Story »
MyDD’s Todd Beeton explored this question in the wake of Obama’s response to the Libby commutation as an example of the “old politics” he wants to dispense with, and in response to Politico’s assertion that in the wake of Bush’s reign of error, competence trumps likability. As you can see from the comments to both articles, the topic is inciting some strong responses.
Now, you have to bear in mind that the Politico is basically another right-wing shill outlet (Check out Glenn Greenwald’s delicious evisceration of the paper’s status as an auxiliary Drudge Report), so anything they say needs to be taken in that context. Still, it’s a legitimate question–but the answer isn’t what people think it is. Full Story »
We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our newest scholar/rogue is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Most Americans, no matter what they think of him, know King’s story well. The son of a Baptist minister, King attended segregated schools (graduating high school at 15), then attended Morehouse College in Atlanta. From there he went to seminary and then to Boston University from which he received his PhD in theology. Barely more than a year after accepting his first pulpit, King accepted the leadership of the first great civil rights “direct action” campaign, the bus boycott in Montgomery, AL, in 1955. In 1957 King became president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a new organization founded to offer leadership and guidance to the burgeoning civil rights movement and a group that took its ideals from Christianity and its operating procedures from those of Gandhi. Over the next eleven years he “traveled over six million miles and spoke over twenty-five hundred times, appearing wherever there was injustice, protest, and action; and meanwhile he wrote five books as well as numerous articles.” Full Story »
The Associated Press reports today that Sean and Julian Lennon, half-brothers and sons of Beatle John Lennon, have reconciled after an 8 year estrangement.
Like you care. But maybe you should.
The Lennon boys’ problems mirror those of a significant part of our society. They’re both boys who grew up without a dad…. Full Story »
Drummer Stewart Copeland of rock icons The Police wasn’t particularly happy with the band’s performance in Vancouver as they began their first world tour in 23 years May 30th:
“This is unbelievably lame,” Copeland wrote [in his blog at his web site] of last Wednesday’s show at the GM Place arena. “We are the mighty Police and we are totally at sea.” Full Story »
For those who don’t know, pioneering progressive blogger Steve Gilliard died last evening after a long hospital stay. Gilliard was creator and head writer of The News Blog, one of (in my view) the best progressive political sites on the Web.
Gilliard was also one of the earliest and most powerful voices showcased on The Daily KOS. I think it not unreasonable to say that Kos owes much of the blog’s early success to Gilliard, and Kos himself offers a testament to Gilly’s drive and passion.
Although I was blogging long before I ever read any of Gilliard’s work, learning from him and watching what he did made me a better blogger and writer. I’ll miss him, and offer my own tribute here.
How many people can hum even two bars of Beethoven’s Fourth Symphony, or Mozart’s 30th? I recently played 60 seconds of these to an audience of 700 — including many professional musicians — but not one person recognized them. Then I played a fraction of the opening “aah” of “Eleanor Rigby” and the single guitar chord that opens “A Hard Day’s Night” — and virtually everyone shouted the names.
Yeah, yeah, yeah – I know, more Boomer mewling and puking about how wonderful we had it musically. Because we did… Full Story »
“In this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig. “
When I was in junior high school, The Man With No Name appeared. In three now classic films – A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and the capper, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly that character established what we all now know as the “Eastwood persona”: the laconic loner, adhering to his own peculiar moral code (at times seemingly amoral but generally tending toward just in a rough frontier sort of way) and, when crossed, breathtakingly deadly. Full Story »
Wall Street Journal reports that a new VIP concert series called “Social” (one of those names that reeks of The Hamptons) is being offered to the uber-rich at East Hampton, NY this summer.
It’s a five concert series, and one must purchase tickets for all five shows. The artists cover the gamut from former Boomer heroes like Billy Joel and James Taylor to former Xer superstar Prince to Millennial fave Dave Matthews.
And the aforementioned Mr. Petty.
Oh, and the tix are fifteen grand a pop. That’s $3,000.00 per show, friends – so pony up. Full Story »
I’ve seen a lot of brain-crushingly stupid stuff coming out of the so-called “paper of record” in recent years, but this just takes the aneurysm-inducing cake:
I saw Elvis Costello two nights ago at (interestingly enough) the Booth Amphitheater in Cary, NC (a suburb of Raleigh). It was an excellent show, and if he’d had a better audience, it would have been a great one.
I think maybe this starts at a Who concert in 1976:
