Locked-down America.

I heard this on the news tonight and almost choked on my dill pickle.  No, literally. 
NEW YORK (AP) Feb. 28 – For the first time in U.S. history, more than one of every 100 adults is in jail or prison, according to a new report documenting America’s rank as the world’s No. 1 incarcerator. It [...]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

Oh-laaaay, oh-lay oh-lay oh-lay!  Oh-laaaaay, oh-laaaaaaaaay!
It’s a soccer thing.  And now it’s coming to Philly.  Finally!
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Phila. Inquirer) Feb. 28 – It may not challenge the established Philadelphia sports teams for fans and media attention just yet. But the Major League Soccer franchise to be awarded to Philadelphia – and Chester – today is [...]

My hero…

… has endorsed my candidate.  That’s him (the hero), second from left, in the light raincoat.

This week’s really good question from Darfur, 2/27/08.

by Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) Feb. 25 – An elderly Darfuri woman stood in front of the charred remains of her house. She tapped me on my shoulder and held out a wizened hand full of seeds.“How am I supposed to eat this?” she pleaded.
Totally humbled, I was speechless, unsure how to help.
Now her face haunts [...]

The swiftboating of Barack Obama.

First we had the bit about his middle name.  Check the “spam” folder of your email: it’s probably sitting in there, maybe several times over.
Then came the so-called “controversy” about the Pledge of Allegiance.  Coupled with the nonsense about him not putting his hand over his heart during the singing of the National Anthem.  And [...]

Death of an agitator.

We have a lost another hero.  One you may not have heard of before, but should have.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Feb. 23 – Johnnie Carr, who joined childhood friend Rosa Parks  in the historic Montgomery bus boycott and kept a busy schedule of civil rights activism up to her final days, has died. She was 97. [...]

“Just because you CAN…

… doesn’t mean you SHOULD, Mr. Nader,” as my late mother used to say. 
WASHINGTON (AP) Feb. 24 – Ralph Nader on Sunday announced a fresh bid for the White House, criticizing the top contenders as too close to big business and dismissing the possibility that his third-party candidacy could tip the election to Republicans.
The longtime [...]

War is a disease.

Like a cancer.   Rancid, nasty, terminal.  Like a virus.  Evil. 
Readers be warned: this is especially ugly stuff.
LONDON (TimesOnline) Feb. 24 – The Attorney-General was urged yesterday to call in Scotland Yard to investigate allegations that British troops tortured and killed a number of Iraqi civilians seized after an ambush at a checkpoint in southern Iraq [...]

Enough.

Yet another review of yet another slaughterhouse-type “horror” movie on Friday in the “Weekend Entertainment” section of the Philadelphia Inquirer.  Oh, and the reviewer just loved it.  Called it “lovely, fabulous, thrilling – albeit ultra-violent.”  Insisted that underneath all the layers of gore, piles of dead bodies, and gallons of blood, there’s a “sweet, tender love story.”
Oh, [...]

George Bush doesn’t care about his own soldiers…

… especially if they weren’t born here.
(New York Times) Feb. 24 – Despite a 2002 promise from President Bush to put citizenship applications for immigrant members of the military on a fast track, some are finding themselves waiting months, or even years, because of bureaucratic backlogs. One, Sgt. Kendell K. Frederick of the Army, who [...]

Wherein I shill for Billy Bragg.

Shamelessly. 

“I Keep Faith.”  from the new CD, out soon.

It’s time for him to go.

It’s time for Westwood Radio and Fox “News” to fire Bill O’Reilly.  Period.
It matters not a bit to me that he “apologized” for his remarks involving a “lynching party” for Michelle Obama.
“I’m sorry if my statement offended anybody. That, of course, was not the intention. Context is everything.”
Oh, yeah.  There it is.  The reliable [...]

Snow day!

Started at just the right time last night: got the call at 4:55 AM.  Our first one of the year.  PERfect timing.
My school’s closed, the high school is closed, the college is closed.  Boys’ day home!
Lots of XBox and frozen pizza.  Lots of coffee.  After shovelling, of course.  While Dad grades papers with the stereo [...]

The “surge” might be “working”…

… yeah, right…. but lots of other things in Iraq apparently aren’t (in case you missed this):
BAGHDAD (AP) Feb. 19 – Already a troubled system, Iraqi medical care has fallen to the brink of collapse since the U.S.-led invasion five years ago.
Scores of doctors have been slain, cancer patients have to hunt down their [...]

This week’s outrage from Darfur, 2/21/08.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) Feb. 21 – A fresh Sudanese offensive by government soldiers and Arab militiamen against Darfur rebels has trapped thousands of refugees along the Chadian border, the rebels and humanitarian workers said yesterday.
Local rebel commander Abbas Mohamed said a dozen civilians were killed and 20 arrested during the latest government attack, which [...]

The People Have The Power, v. 2.

Jazz in the ‘wood.  Collingswood, New Jersey, that is.
Jazz Buffs Flock to Collingswood by Jon Caroulis for The Philadelphia Inquirer 
Alan Nelson was never a jazz fan until he bumped into Chet Rice, a retired drummer, on a train back from gambling in Atlantic City. Since then, Nelson and his wife, Anna, who live in Cherry Hill, have [...]

Troll bait.

Headline from The Daily Telegraph (UK) yesterday:
Michelle Obama attacked over patriotism gaffe
Lead paragraphs:
Barack Obama’s wife Michelle has been accused of being unpatriotic after she said that her husband’s White House campaign had made her “really proud” of her country for the first time.
Speaking at a rally in Milwaukee, she said: “Hope is making a comeback [...]

“Desperate Candidates.”

Talk about your bottom-of-the-barrel scraping and random straw-clutching…
DE PERE, Wis. (AP) Feb. 18 – Top advisers to Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Democratic rival Barack Obama of plagiarism Monday, the latest effort by her campaign to undermine the Illinois senator’s credibility.
Clinton communications director Howard Wolfson, during a conference call with reporters, pointed to a speech Obama [...]

Take a minute.

From UNICEF:
AMMAN, Jordan, 12 February 2008 – Iraq’s children saw little respite from violence and instability in 2007. But help may be on the way. A consolidated appeal for Iraq will be launched today to help humanitarian organizations respond to widespread suffering and deprivation.
As part of this funding appeal, UNICEF [...]

The terrorists outside your door.

Everybody look what’s goin’ down… 
MADISON, Wis. (AP) Feb. 16 – The online gun dealer who sold a weapon to the Virginia Tech shooter said it was an unnerving coincidence that he also sold handgun accessories to the man who killed five students at Northern Illinois University.
Eric Thompson said his Web site, [edited], sold two empty [...]