Ok, I've been chastised.
While the President and responsible Republican leaders are calling for a day of prayer and reflection, Sarah Palin goes on a counter-programming tact and steps in it once again. Fortunately, she's not finding much cover. Her logic is, my words don't have consequence, but the words of my political opponents do.
I don't mind that Sarah Palin is getting her 15 minutes. She's pretty amusing. What bothers me is that seemingly intelligent people fall for her.
So don't worry. Words don't have consequences, except when they do.
From the Washington Post:
Some Arizona Republican party officials resign after Tucson shooting
Miller, the first and only African-American to hold the party's precinct chairmanship, said he had been called "McCain's boy," and that, during a speech, a member of the audience made the symbol of a gun with his hand and pointed it at him. "I wasn't going to resign but decided to quit after what happened Saturday," Miller said. "I love the Republican Party but I don't want to take a bullet for anyone."
Here's my top albums that I discovered last year. Several had been released before, but I was a late-comer.
They're not in order. I'd be hard pressed to offer an order.
Jakob Dylan - Women and Country. Discovered via the NPR Tiny Desk Concert. (currently $5 on Amazon!) I was grateful for this because it led to…
Neko Case - Neko Case/Live From Austin, TX. From her Austin City Limits performance. I love this album. I'm afraid to get anything else. (a problem when I discover an artist via a particular album and then get disappointed by other albums in the catalog.)
Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It. Another album that really started ticking for me when I saw him on his Tiny Desk Concert. You know you've got great material when you take a sort of 60s soul sound and strip it down to acoustic guitars and it still resonates.
Rosanne Cash - The List. (currently $5 on Amazon!) I saw her on @craigyferg's show and really like the song she played. The album was produced by her husband, John Leventhal, whom I'd known from his work with Shawn Colvin. It's a great album. But don't put it on for the big super bowl bash. Here's 500 Miles from a BBC performance. It's got a slightly different feel than the album's version.
The National - Boxer. (Here, Fake Empire.) Late to the party once again. This one is a few years old. The National's release this year, High Violet contains my favorite of their songs, Bloodbuzz, Ohio. But I like Boxer better, so far, as an overall album…
Uncle Tupelo - 89/93 An Anthology. This is why I hedged on what's covered here. I just discovered a band that dissolved 17 years ago. Jeff Tweedy was in Uncle Tupelo, but it's Jay Farrar's band. Great stuff.
Mumford & Sons. (currently $5 on Amazon!) This one is making all kinds of year-end lists and for good reason. Great sound. I can listen to this one all day. Here's Little Lion Man.
It was encouraging to see Congress repeal the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy that encouraged gay service members to hide their sexuality in order to serve. This is the first federal step towards equality for the LGBT community that comes to mind. I was surprised it passed, actually, given the results of the election in Iowa - I assumed Congress would be too timid.
The end of DADT is fairly significant when one remembers that President Truman ended racial segregation as policy in the armed forces in 1948 — six years before Brown V Board of Education.
Of course, maybe after the champagne has worn off, one needs to remember that progress isn't linear.
My friend Mel Ryan-Roberts took these pictures of the recent lunar eclipse from his front yard(!)
