Another recent HV story on NPR Day to Day— Chicago barber Rex Mitchell insists that his window display is not an anti-war statement. For the past year, the barber has kept a running tally of soldiers killed in Iraq in the window of his Gold Crown Barber Salon. By producer Christopher Booker, for HV and Chicago Tribune multimedia.
“Window to War” (2:20 mp3):
Photos © Christopher Booker:
Last week’s Bernake/Paulson/Cox C-Span Congressional Extravaganza left me impressed w/:
• SEC’s Cox’s extremely educational testimony on what his agency can/can’t regulate (according to current law).
• FedRez’s Bernake’s insight on foreign banks are intertwining w/ those in USA.
• Congressional questioning, whether from D or R, seeking some/any clarification on procedures for the “proposed purchase of troubled assets”.
• Was particularly proud of my own Junior Sen. Jon Testor’s (D-MT) understanding of the implications and history of this year’s gov bailouts, and his pointing out how in past, the Fed/TreasDept has said all $X-Billion of the loan appropriation might not be used (as they’re saying now), but in fact every penny was.
Sec. of $s Paulson, otoh, met every request for clarity w/ a variation of: “We want the money and we want it now.” Heard no evidence this guy has any clue what he’s doing, what he’s going to do, or even what he did.
I gave him the benefit of doubt, tho — maybe he was hiding details in hopes of expediency. So I looked elsewhere for some sign this guy’s even mildly competent.
Found none. But along the way did run into lotsa illuminating info. What follows is an audio and url annotated travelogue of my trip thru the web.
Read the rest »
Hearing Voices from NPR®:
031 The Stamberg Files— Essays, Audio-tours, and Interviews
Host— Susan Stamberg of NPR
Airdates— 10/1/2008 - 10/8/2008
The Stamberg Files (53:00 mp3):
Susan pulls some pieces she’s most proud of from the NPR audio archives:
She knits her way though history, takes us on a personal tour of DC, and tries to interest her colleagues in resurrecting her infamous relish recipe.
She talks with economist Milton Friedman, actor Judi Dench, writer Nora Ephron, and pianist Leon Fleisher.
In pursuit of patriotism, Ms. Stamberg de-France-ifies popular culture, then ends in a Parisian park, chatting with a world-class conversationalist. Photo © 2006 NPR by Antony Nagelmann.
Who are these Undecideds, who absorb the media spotlight like a black whole, who can’t leave their house w/o participating in 3 surveys, 4 focus groups, and a sit-down w/ CNN? The Undecideds look like us, they talk like us. They live amongst us. But they are different, my friends, to the core.
Their choice it simple: it’s either Fresh Face or POW-guy. We all picked long ago. Yet the Undecideds waffle and flip-flop. They are guilty of, in a word, Indecisiveness.
And Indecisive is not something America can afford. Not in these perilous times, what with the overseas War on Anxiety and domestically The Greatest Economic Collapse Since The Last One.
These Undecideds threaten all we hold dear and purchasable by credit.
Why don’t we make them choose? Now. Maybe if they made their minds up, we could hold the elections early. This would save the US billions in attack ads alone, which we could reinvest in bribing Wall Street to quit killing our economy.
Indecision, not now, not ever, not here in the good ol’ USA.
(For more on battling indecisiveness, see previous post.)
This one definitely Not Safe For Work (NSFW), produced by an Obama-nation known as Jewish Council for Education & Research, it’s Sarah Potty-Mouth Silverman for Jewish Council for Education & Research, it’s Sarah Potty-Mouth Silverman for The Great Schlep, on Vimeo (NSFW):
via WFMU’s blog.
Another Protest Song “invites artists, songwriters, and musicians to create, upload, listen, and debate new songs of protest as part of a growing audio archive of politically engaged music.” The site asked the musical question: “What does a 21st Century protest song sound like?”
Well, it mostly sounds pitiful, pampered, and pompous, if the protest songs posted there are any indication. But among the garbage are some gems, like…
“This is What Democracy Looks Like” (5:13 mp3):
Based on recording of protest against Iraq War, New York, March 2003. Written/produced/performed by Bob Goldberg/BAN Radio “Orchestra”, 2003.
Another musical Obama-nation, Ben Sollee re-does his tune w/ the Best of Barack mixed in by DJ 2nd Nature:
“A Few Honest Words” (2:18 mp3):
More info and links at Some Velvet Blog.
Subscribe