Happy Friday

Wilford Brimley kicks it for the diabeetus. Awesome.

(Thanks to AS)

Sometimes, Brooks

Once in a while David Brooks finds the exact right words. I'm in complete agreement with him in today's NY Times column. His lesson goes:

So what is the theme of our history lesson? It is a story of remarkable volume and utter weakness. It is the story of media mavens who claim to represent a hidden majority but who in fact represent a mere niche — even in the Republican Party. It is a story as old as “The Wizard of Oz,” of grand illusions and small men behind the curtain.

Radio blowhards like Limbaugh &c make lots of noise, and get lots of attention. Teabaggers and Town Hallers do likewise, outrageously. But the evidence doesn't bear out their supposed influence. Really, they're loud and obnoxious so they make good TV, but they are definitely the minority. A small, crazy minority.

But still, the echo chamber is a scary thing, and it makes the frail nervous (see: Baucus, Conrad, etc). It's just a shame these people don't understand that it's not the will of the people being shouted at them, it's just the will of the noisy few.

Jon Stewart's Take on SuperLame SuperMajority

Democratic Super Majority

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This is so dead-on that there's really nothing more to say.

Digby Nails Baucus et al

"I think Blanche Lincoln, Kent Conrad and Max Baucus all have plenty of constituents who make 30k a year just like Rockefeller. But they'd rather see them suffer than risk being called a socialist by some confused teabagger or lose a big campaign check from Blue Cross. It's a choice. And what they choose tells you a whole lot about the character of those making it." From Digby's Hullaballoo

Noah Milan Hess

My new nephew, 3 weeks old.

Noah 3 weeks old from Bettina Dahl on Vimeo.

Leave Health Care Alone

Dirty Projectors

One great thing about the instant-ness of technology like Facebutt and Twitter is that you can experience stuff like this.

A tweet from ?uestlove brought this video to my living room. Apparently the Dirty Projectors came to The Roots' dressing room and performed this new song. As he says, "How cool is it for them to do this?"





And how cool is it that we can share the experience?

BCRP Scores Ginormous Grant!

Here's the word from the website. This is new news, and good. Very good. Much more to come on this from me. Wahoo!

BIG NEWS: U.S. Department of Commerce awards Radio Boise $227,000 for purchase of station equipment!!!

The federal grant funds will be used to purchase broadcasting equipment such as a transmitter, antenna and our studio gear. FINALLY!!! The 18-month grant cycle will require $75,000 in local matching dollars. Word of the great news arrived earlier in the week from Rep. Walt Minnick's office.

Happy Friday

What Goes On

Yeah, the blog's been a video dump lately. Things're craaaaazy. We've got this going on:



And a whole lot else. As if that weren't enough. I'm cooking outside!



I'll keep this place posted on the progress. It's gonna be great when it's done, but man, I've got to go out through the backyard to get from my bedroom to the living room. And the dogs, of course, have decided they have to go outside at 4am every night.

But it'll be great when it's done.

Marrow

It's rock video day! And this is the best one. I heart Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent).

Seven

Another spooky video from Fever Ray.

A New Take on Reform

Sorry, the vid's busted, so go here.

Happy Friday

Catch Built to Spill live at Hyde Park Street Fair in Boise, for free, at 8pm or so.

4:00-4:45 La Knots
5:00-5:45 Kris Doty
6:15-7:00 Kamphire Collective
7:30-8:00 Disco Doom
8:15-9:30 Built to Spill

Title Track

Pavement's planning a reunion and world tour. I'm too excited to be coherent about this. You'll be seeing more of these.

Just for Fun

From Jovita's, in 03.

Health Care Reform, Franco-American Style

Roger Cohen has a sober, informed look at the differences and similarities between the US health care system and, the horror, the French system. We're not so different, except in a few ways. Chief of which:

I don’t think there’s much to debate when France spends 11 percent of its gross domestic product on health care and insures everyone and the United States spends 16.5 percent of G.D.P. and leaves 20 percent of adults under 65 uninsured. The numbers don’t lie: The U.S. system is wasteful and unjust.

We could learn a bit from actually looking at their system. We share some principles, like a combination of private and public funding, but we differ in efficiency (and humanity, but that's another topic).

If the hysteria could just go away, and the people of this country stop and think about this, there's really no reason to be upset. But as long as the fearmongers work their magic on the gullible and not-so-smart masses that make up their daily audiences, we're doomed and will end up with a watered-down and ineffective bandaging of our current system. And in that scenario, we all lose.

To The College Republicans...

Happy Friday

Thanks, Tony.

President Obama on Health Care Reform

Seen the whole speech? Here it is.

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It was exactly what this moment called for--forceful, passionate, and persuasive. He called out the liars and fearmongers, and he gave credit where it's due, on both sides of the aisle. He educated and he threatened, he pleaded and he taught.

And in the end he made the best point, via Ted Kennedy, that health care reform in this country is a moral issue. That this is the right thing to do.

In the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick.