Saturday, September 16, 2006

All the blog fit to print

An op-ed from our own State Treasurer Jonathan Miller appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, well at least in the online version of the paper.

The Chicago Tribune reviews the latest film from Zach Braff.

I don't know how credible this site is, but apparently Paul McCartney was singing the blues long before the news of the divorce came out. The track appears on his album from last year and the song's name is "Riding to Vanity Fair."

Bob Casey, Jr., a candidate for Senate in PA, gave a major speech at Catholic University's Columbus School of Law.

Yep, it's that time again. The latest recap on the Red Sox. They played a day-night DH today.

September 14
Boston 6, Baltimore 5
Winning pitcher - Keith Foulke (3-1)
SV - Mike Timlin (5)

Air America Radio has unveiled a new lineup. To be honest, I really don't listen to talk radio at all unless it's on ESPN Radio. Unless you have a comedian like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert making an appearance, I find sports talk shows more entertaining. That said, why does ESPN Radio in Louisville have to preempt Colin Cowherd?

5am-6am The Mark Riley Show
6am-9am The Young Turks
9am-12noon The Sam Seder Show
12noon-3pm The Al Franken Show
3pm-6pm The Randi Rhodes Show
6pm-8pm The Rachel Maddow Show
8pm-9pm "Politically Direct" w/David Bender

9pm-10pm "Ecotalk" w/Betsy Rosenberg

I got this in my inbox from a Democratic activist in Paducah, KY. This piece was originally published in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei under the title, "C'ntarea Americii."
An Ode to America

Why are Americans so united?
They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.

Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart.

Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the army, or the secret service that they are only a bunch of losers.
Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.
Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about.
Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand

After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag.
They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing.

On every occasion, they started singing:"God Bless America!"
I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people.

How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes.

And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into a collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy.

What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way?
Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money?
I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles.

Cornel Nistorescu
Is there anyone not touched by that piece of writing?

The EU gets it right on this one.

Oriana Fallaci has died at the age of 76. May she rest in peace.

It's always nice reading what things that non-Jews did to help the Jews in Germany during the time of the Shoah. This is one of those stories of courage.

Musician John Mayer talks about his latest album, especially the single "Waiting on the World to Change."
Question: The lyrics to the first single, Waiting on the World to Change, speaks to political and social issues -- a first for you. Were you hesitant to do that in the past?
Answer: I think so, for two reasons. No. 1, politics weren't that much a part of lifestyle when I first started writing music. You cannot avoid war in life, you cannot avoid the fear of terrorism, you cannot avoid those things now. They are a part of everyday demeanor. So in that sense it's become more of an acceptable thing to comment on because it's just so much of a white elephant. Also, I think as a writer you have to gain trust. ... You're not going to just start a fire just for effect. I have chosen my words on this record incredibly carefully.

Q: But in interviews, you speak candidly. Why are you so careful with your songs?
A: Well, the song is where it counts for me. When you do an interview with me, you're talking to a cheap imitation of the person that I really am. There's no magic in my words; it's just me talking. Where it matters is the magic of making music; you have that unbelievable effect -- you are really almost doing open-heart surgery on people through a stereo system. That's really delicate stuff. Where a song goes in someone's heart is a completely different destination than a quote from a magazine goes. And I am respectively careful and careless in that regard. If I had two years to think of this interview answer, I would have the amazing answers of all time.[...]

Q: Are comedy audiences more receptive because you are John Mayer?
A: No, they're less receptive. They're saying to themselves, "Why is this guy onstage? What else do you need, rich, young singing heartthrob? What do you want? I left the house so I didn't have to hear my roommate blast your music. The last thing I want to hear is you tell me jokes." So, as a writer, how do you disarm that? ... There's always a way to disarm somebody with words.
Congressman Ben Chandler is looking into air traffic control issues following the tragic crash last month.

One of the reasons why I've likely ruled music out as a professional career is because of the toll that it takes on your hearing. Roger Daltrey now plays mainly classical music at his house for the most part. Now there's the news that the legendary Eric Clapton is losing his hearing as a result of concerts in the 60's.

Senator Bayh talks about tariffs for China with an Iowan audience.
Speaking to an Iowa United Auto Workers conference, Bayh said he is not a protectionist, but he believes the Chinese currently have an artificial trade advantage that must be addressed if trade relations with the United States and other nations is to be fair.

Bayh, a likely Democratic president candidate in 2008, also was critical of President Bush for not meeting with top U.S. automakers to address industry concerns in the wake of today's announcement that the Ford Motor Co. is undergoing a major restructuring. The Indiana senator said the president made time to meet with the winner of the American Idol television show so he should be able to sit down with auto industry officials.
Bayh also took the time to speak about national security issues.
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh is defending Democratic criticism of President George W. Bush's policy in Iraq, but said his party can't come across as a "bunch of wimps" on security issues.

Bayh, who's in Des Moines Friday, was asked about a GOP effort to focus on the war on terrorism and the notion that Democratic critics are undermining the war.

He said Democrats are speaking out because "we want to take a tougher, better approach to protecting this country." But he said Democrats who simply complain will suffer with voters who view security as a base issue that must be addressed.
Local congressional campaigns are taking off with the advertisements which will bombard television viewers for the next month and a half before the elections.

Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will be in New Hampshire again.

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