June 2009 Archives

The next time you hear one of our elected officials in Washington rail against President Obama’s proposed public option on health insurance by saying it will “destroy the marketplace” (Richard Shelby) or that there’s “plenty of competition in the private insurance market” (Joe Lieberman) remember this report from Heath Care for America Now (HCAN). The only thing in danger of being destroyed is the monopoly the large insurance companies presently hold, and which they are...

I know, I know.  This is the the third Clapton post this week, but, geez, he was in town, after all.  I ran across this video a couple of days ago of Clapton in a Hyde Park concert with Jerry Portnoy, harmonica master.  The song is Holy Mother.  Enjoy:Note:  I'm on the road starting today, will post when I can next week....

With most of our celebrity-crazed media and public focused on the death of Michael Jackson, I guess it was the perfect time for a Friday night news dump like this: “Obama administration officials, fearing a battle with Congress that could stall plans to close the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, are crafting language for an executive order that would reassert presidential authority to incarcerate terrorism suspects indefinitely, according to three senior government officials with knowledge...

It's been a wild week in the news with the Clapton/Winwood concert in Houston, the Mark Sanford mess, and the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett as well as the tumult in Iran.  I've had about enough of politics for the week, also.  So...a little rock & roll.  The concert this week got me breaking out old Clapton songs on iTunes, and I thought you might enjoy another one of my favorite pieces.Clapton put...

If you've been a reader for a while, you already know that Clapton is my hero.  He's been a part of my musical consciousness for 40 years, and I go see him whenever I can.  Tonight was one of those nights; he and old Blind Faith bandmate, Steve Winwood, stopped in Houston for one of their 14 performances around the country.Back in the day, Clapton earned 2 nicknames; one was Slowhand for his blues based...

UPDATED: Right wing hate slinger, Michael Savage, told his radio listeners Tuesday that he is going to publish photographs and "other pertinent information" about employees of watchdog group Media Matters.  Their transgression?  Recording and repeating Savage's psycho rants verbatim.  Savage is still mad that the United Kingdom wouldn't let him into the country because of his incendiary rhetoric on national radio, so he's taking it out on Media Matters.The UK has a policy of banning...

TIME’s Joe Klein had some good advice for John McCain in an appearance on Larry King Live Tuesday night. Advice that also applies to Lindsey Graham, Fred Thompson and the rest of the Republican chorus of bluster and bravado urging President Obama to “do more” about the situation in Iran. “Be quiet.” Whatever happened to “politics stops at the waters edge?” I recall not too long ago Republicans saying that criticizing the President’s foreign policy...

Over the last week, we have been talking about how extremist thinking and hate speech have infiltrated the American right.  Numerous examples of this trend have been provided in my posts and by my readers as we've talked about this troubling subject.  Predictably, some readers on the conservative side of the political spectrum have vociferously denied this relationship in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.David Neiwert, author and blogger, recently published his new...

This week we have been talking about hate speech and how it has permeated the American right, directed at huge segments of our society for political gain.  Hate speech comes in all forms; broadcast media, political speeches, and the internet.  But a prime outlet is the print media, especially in books that are pumped out by the dozens, most filled with fiction designed to foment outrage and, oh, by the way, generate millions in book...

This week, we are discussing hate speech and how it has permeated the American right wing, used to gain, and retain, political power.  I have been reading a lot about this issue recently and will finish my series of discussions on this subject over the next few days.  In the meantime, I thought you might find some of the resources that I've discovered interesting.  Here are a few:Orcinus - David Neiwert's blog.  He regularly writes...