POETRY FRIDAY: Jesse Winchester, A Singer and Songwriter with Roots in the American South (VIDEOS)

Posted on September 19, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro
Jesse Winchester 1944-2014

Jesse Winchester
1944-2014

By Elaine Magliaro

According to Mandalit Del Barco (NPR), singer-songwriter Jesse Winchester had planned to become a lawyer after he graduated from college. In 1967, however, he got his draft notice and fled to Canada. Barco said that when he was in Montreal, Winchester—who was born in Louisiana and raised on a farm in Tennessee—began writing songs and singing, “always looking back to his roots in the American South.”

Barco:

In exile, Winchester released his first album, produced by Robbie Robertson of The Band. Music critics hailed him as the next Dylan, but he was not able to perform in the U.S. because he was labeled a draft dodger.

In 1986, Winchester told NPR that “he was always somewhat ambivalent about performing anyway.” Winchester added, “I have more a writer’s personality than I do a performer’s personality. I like to be by myself and that kind of thing. You have to love being onstage and preening and prancing and posing. That’s kept me from being a real big star. This is above and beyond any limitations my talent might have, and in that respect, we’d have to blame God, which I’d be more than happy to do.”

Winchester died earlier this year “following a battle with cancer.” He was sixty-nine years old.

I Wave Bye Bye

 

(Note: There are more videos below the fold.)

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Music, Poetry, Short Video | Tagged , | 2 Comments

“Good Lawyers” Say Obama’s Power Grab Is Not Shameless

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Bob Stone

By BOB STONE

John Kerry testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this afternoon regarding the administration’s plans to deal with ISIL.  When Democrat Robert Menendez asked what authority the Obama administration was relying upon for its use of military force, Kerry claimed the 9/11 AUMF gave the President full authority to conduct military operations against ISIL in Iraq and elsewhere.

“How is it that the administration believes that the 9/11 AUMF — or the Iraq AUMF — provide the authorization to move forward, whether the Congress decides to or not?” [Menendez] asked, noting that the administration had pushed for the Iraq AUMF to be repealed just one year previously.

The secretary of state began a convoluted response, saying that “good lawyers” in the State Department have concluded that the 2001 authorization “includes al-Qaeda — it’s always been interpreted as including al-Qaeda.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 13 Comments

“Concrete Angel”: Martina McBride’s Powerful Song about Child Abuse (VIDEO)

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro

Martina_McBride_Concrete_singleSubmitted by Elaine Magliaro

The subject of corporal punishment is a hot topic in the news at the moment because of the indictment of Minnesota Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson for child abuse. On Saturday, the Associated Press reported that Peterson “was booked and released from a Texas jail on a child abuse charge early Saturday. Peterson was processed at the Montgomery County jail and released on $15,000 bond.”

Some people have come to Peterson’s defense. Many other people, however, were appalled when they saw pictures of the cuts and bruises left on the thighs, hands, buttocks, and lower back of Peterson’s four-year-old son after the football star had beaten him with a switch.

Click here to see photos of Peterson’s son’s body after the beating..

Continue reading →

Posted in Courts, Crime, Music, Short Video, United States | Tagged , , , , | 14 Comments

Darren Wilson testifies in front of grand jury

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Bob Stone

Submitted by Bob Stone

Conventional wisdom holds that defense attorneys will normally not allow their clients to appear before a grand jury.   Should the client be indicted, the grand jury transcript can be used against him in the subsequent trial; greatly reducing the attorney’s defense options.   

If the target of the grand jury inquiry has nothing to hide however…

ST. LOUIS • Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson testified for almost four hours Tuesday in front of a St. Louis County grand jury investigating the Aug. 9 shooting of Michael Brown, a source with knowledge of the investigation said Wednesday.

Wilson was not obligated to testify, and has also spoken with St. Louis County investigators twice and federal investigators once, the source said. The source said that Wilson had been “cooperative.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Law Enforcement, United States | Tagged , , | 185 Comments

John Oliver on Scottish Independence

Posted on September 17, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro

Last Sunday on Last Week Tonight, John Oliver did a segment on the subject of Scottish independence. He discussed the arguments both for and against independence. Oliver “noted the differing political philosophies between Scotland (generally liberal) and the U.K. (generally conservative) and raised key issues like the oil revenues from Scotland’s reserves.” He also talked about the issue of British nuclear weapons that have been stored in Scotland—which the Scots would like removed if theirs becomes an independent country.

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Scottish Independence

Continue reading →

Posted in Countries, Scotland, United Kingdom | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Senator Bernie Sanders on Meet the Press (VIDEO)

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro
Senator Bernie Sanders Independent of Vremont

Senator Bernie Sanders
Independent of Vermont

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro

Senator Bernie Sanders, an Independent from the state of Vermont, appeared on Meet the Press earlier today.

Excerpt from Todd’s interview with Sanders:

Sanders:

“The truth is, there is profound anger at both political parties…The question is: At a time when so many people have seen a decline in their standard of living, when the wealthiest and largest corporations are doing phenomenally well, the American people want change.”

“I think Citizens United will go down in history as one of the worst Supreme Court decisions ever. I think it is opening up the road to oligarchy in the United States of America…Anybody who speaks to the needs of the working class and the middle class of this country and shows the courage to take on the billionaire class — I think that candidate will do pretty well.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Campaign Finance, Democracy, Government, Oligarchy, Politics, United States, Wall Street | Tagged , | 35 Comments

News Roundup—September 14, 2014

Posted on September 14, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro

NewsHeadline

Submitted by Elaine Magliaro

EDUCATION NEWS

Obama Administration To Reward Student Loan Company Accused Of Cheating Troops (Huffington Post)

Consumer Group Criticizes Education Department’s Debt Collectors (Huffington Post)

Seniors Forced Into Poverty As Education Department Demands Payment (Huffington Post)

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel Cuts Schools, Pensions While Preserving Fund For Corporate Subsidies (International Business Times)

Teachers Unions Use Financial Clout Of Pension Funds To Make Up For Lost Political Power: The American Federation of Teachers has used its pension funds to take on billionaire asset managers, the nation’s largest private student loan company and the world’s biggest education company. (Buzz Feed)

School Reform Should Focus On the Quality Of Principals (Valley News)

Biglaw’s Big Dumb Teacher Tenure Lawsuits (Above the Law)

Continue reading →

Posted in News Roundup | Tagged | 4 Comments

FFS Update: Rule #4 Clarification

Posted on September 13, 2014 by Gene Howington

Due to recent debates on the nature of Rule #4, it has been revised to more clearly state the objective standards of behavior to which it applies.  The new text reads:

4) Threats of physical violence, stalking and inciting violence are not allowed. Do it and you’ll get a (note the singular article “a”) warning.  Do it again, you’ll get banned. The standards/definitions are:

“Direct threat”, to wit, “to place any person in fear of imminent serious bodily injury”.

“Stalking” is “any person who intentionally and repeatedly follows or harasses another person and who makes a credible threat, either expressed or implied, with the intent to place that person in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily harm”.  This standard may be used in conjunction with the standard of persistent disruptive behavior found in Rule #1 as a reason for banishment.

“Incitement” is “urging or instigating other persons to riot or commit crimes and/or acts of violence”.  This does not mean the mere oral or written (1) advocacy of ideas or (2) expression of belief, not involving advocacy of any act or acts of violence or assertion of the rightness of, or the right to commit, any such act or acts.

Your cooperation with and understanding of the rules of this forum are appreciated.

Gene Howington, Editor-in-Chief

Posted in FFS Update(s) | 15 Comments

“The End and the Beginning”: An Anti-War Poem by Wislawa Szymborska (VIDEO)

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro

PoetryFridayButtonSubmitted by Elaine Magliaro

For Poetry Friday this week, I’m sharing one of my favorite poems written by my favorite poet–Wislawa Szymborska. The poem is titled The End and the Beginning. I choose this poem because I think it’s a fitting companion for the other piece I posted earlier today titled “It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again”: The News Media and Political Pundits Appear to Be Fear Mongering and Beating the Drums of War Once More.

Here are the first three stanzas of the poem:

The End and the Beginning
By Wislawa Szymborska
Translated by Joanna Trzeciak

After every war
someone has to clean up.
Things won’t
straighten themselves up, after all.

Someone has to push the rubble
to the side of the road,
so the corpse-filled wagons
can pass.

Someone has to get mired
in scum and ashes,
sofa springs,
splintered glass,
and bloody rags.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Poetry, Short Video, War | Tagged , | 4 Comments

“It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again”: The News Media and Political Pundits Appear to Be Fear Mongering and Beating the Drums of War Once More (VIDEO)

Posted on September 12, 2014 by Elaine Magliaro

CNNLogoBy ELAINE MAGLIARO

Last Sunday, Brian Stetler of CNN said he was concerned “about whether or not the media is stoking a war panic over the Islamic State militant group.” Stelter wondered whether members of the media were “letting their fears get the best of them, or their ideological agendas.” During a discussion with The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel, Stetler questioned whether the media was “pushing the president towards further escalation.” Jack Mirkinson (Huffington Post) noted “press reaction to the growing power of ISIS in Iraq and Syria has been dominated by hawkish voices…”

I touched on this subject of pundits and the members of the media being vocal about how our country should be gearing up for more military actions in the Mideast before in my post titled Iraq, the Mainstream Media, and the Neocon Reunion Tour. Mike Spindell also wrote a post about the media and pundits fear mongering about ISIS/ISIL in his post titled On the Eve of 9/11 the “New” terrorist con job begins.

Michael Calderone (Huffington Post) said that as the Obama administration “weighs whether it should try to manage the Islamic State, destroy it or follow it to the ‘gates of Hell,’ endless news coverage and non-stop cable chatter have focused on the possibility of expanding the fight from Iraq to Syria.” He added that many people “have argued that President Barack Obama needs to go beyond air strikes against the Islamic State in Iraq”… and should “begin targeting militants inside civil war-torn Syria.” He continued by saying that the “notion that Obama isn’t doing enough has been a common theme, regardless of party.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Iraq, Neoconservatives, Politics, Propaganda, US Military, War | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments