Free Period: Friday Random/Genius Ten

Known endearingly as the “Lion of the Senate,” Ted Kennedy backed enough meaningful legislation in his 47 years in office to qualify as a revolutionary by the milquetoast standards of the U.S. Senate.

If anything, Kennedy proved you didn’t have to be a punk to be a progressive.

It’s a lesson some liberals might do well to remember as they prepare to tackle the issue Kennedy often referred to as the “cause of my life.”

With that in mind, PostBourgie humbly submitted 10 songs for this week’s not-so Random Ten to light a fire for the fight ahead. Because as Common says, “The revolution ain’t a game/it’s another name/for life fighting."

My only submission for the week: Revolution by Arrested Development.

If there had been a few more spots (and thank goodness there wasn't), I also would have gone with:

1. C.I.A. (Criminals in Action) - KRS-One, Zack de la Rocha, Last Emperor
2. War - Bob Marley (Would "Get Up, Stand Up" have been too easy?)
3. Zombie - Fela Kuti
4. Cell Therapy - Goodie MOB
5. Soul on Ice - Ras Kass ("The End" with RZA would have also been acceptable)




"The End" with RZA from Ras' second album would have also been acceptable.

As we head into the weekend, just remember that the revolution won't be televised on the tee-vee ... but you might catch it on your Nano.

Also, since we're talking about music - I did bring up the topic after all - I've got a feeling that Raekwon's "Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Pt. II" is going to be my favorite album of '09. And it won't be close. Don't even get me started on "The Blueprint 3."

Here's the first video off the upcoming album, "House of Flying Daggers":


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Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer

The defense attorney for a recently convicted rapist in West Virginia made a compelling case that Phil Hartman used too much of a soft touch:

"You cannot rape the willing," ReBrook said. "They got in those automobiles with the intention of having sex for money.

"I would be horrified if any of the women in my life were raped, but I'm talking about decent, honorable women," ReBrook said, and then dramatically raised his voice. "Not whores who have sex with many, many men for money."

Assistant Prosecutor Fred Giggenbach immediately asked Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman to stop ReBrook, but he did not.

"They are whores," ReBrook persisted. "That is a perfectly usable word in the English language.

"Finding this man guilty of rape lessens the dignity of every other woman," ReBrook said. "What they have done is turn sex into something disgusting.

"They are not like your wife, your girlfriend or your daughter," he said. "They are street tramps. And what happened to them was, at least in part, their fault."

ReBrook is not like your husband, your boyfriend or your son. He is a very dangerous, judgmental asshole. And not all that different from his client.

h/t Feministing

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Memory Lane

Remember this guy? Whatever happened to him?

Eminem - New Music - More Music Videos

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Great White ... Hopeless

Colin Asher makes a point that I wish I had written first (damn oversleeping):

Republican Representative Lynn Jenkins stepped in it twice over when she said the Grand Old Party was looking for a "Great White Hope" to stop President Obama's political agenda.

Not only did she put the lie to Republican claims that the party's beef with the president is purely ideological, and not racial, but by employing a boxing metaphor that she clearly doesn't understand, she set herself up as a punching bag.

See, Ms. Jenkins, the thing about Great White Hopes is...they always lose.

Sarah Palin and Eric Cantor look an awful lot like James J. Jeffries to me.

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Boycotting Beck

Media Matters has come up with a list of 23 companies who are still running ads on Glenn Beck's Fox TV news show. Among the foolishly faithful are TeaPartyExpress.org (sadly, no events are scheduled for the Tampa area anytime soon), HughesNet and The Wall Street Journal.

Getting lonely over there, eh?

This comes after at least 37 companies have said they will no longer run ads on Beck's televised circus.

Since I rarely watch Beck's show anyway, I really don't have anything to boycott. And I doubt many of you - my faithful readers - are spending much time willfully turning yourselves stoopid by tuning in for his show.

Furthermore, I'm generally not much of a boycott sort of guy. But I am interested in seeing who the holdouts are going to be in this particular situation. What's the endgame?

Clearly, not every company is going to pull their ads from Beck's show - as long as the Fox Movie Channel is around, at least. Is it possible to run a show with only three companies running ads? Or will the right-wingers rally enough support for Beck so that, oh, Whole Foods and Microsoft find their kindred spirit on the tube? Continue Reading »

Remembering the Last Lion

Writers much more capable and qualified than myself are handling the tributes and obituaries for late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy. Assuming you haven't already been inundated with links about Kennedy today, try out some of these:

Michael Tomasky: "There are and will be more Kennedys, but the Kennedy era is over now. Teddy was imperfect enough that some Americans will say amen to that. Let them. The rest of us know what a dramatically better place this country is because of him."

Josh Marshall at TPM asks if Kennedy's death might be a turning point in the health care debate that was near and dear to his heart?

Adam Serwer calls him "the only Kennedy who wasn't overrated." More: "He couldn't make the whole country fall in love with him. But centuries from now, when the sentimental attachment of those who can remember the older Kennedy brothers are gone, it is the youngest Kennedy sibling who will be remembered, warts and all, for having most shaped America's path, and most exemplified its ideals."

Truly a man ahead of his time, Kennedy was the first member of Congress to have a Web page.

Kennedy v. Ashcroft, 2005. Spencer Ackerman: "That was one representative moment from the career of Senator Edward Kennedy, extraordinary both for the way the man rose to the challenge of his times and how routine it was that he would."

Kennedy's plane crash in 1964, which killed one of his good friends. In a bit of an ironic twist, Kennedy had been delayed because he didn't want to miss a vote earlier in the day on the Civil Rights Act. Nobody ever said helping teh Negroes would be easy.

The Monkey Cage plucks out a few meaningful tidbits from Adam Clymer's biography.

"The Senate's Fighting Liberal" from The Nation in 2002.

Charles Pierce's beautiful piece - "if his name was Edward Moore" - from the Boston Globe in 2003.

Neocon crank Andrew Breitbart keeps it classy, calling Kennedy a "special pile of human excrement." What a compassionate conservative.

The Green Bay Packers actually recruited Kennedy out of college in 1955. He had been a star tight end at Harvard.

Over at PostBourgie, we offered our condolences. (Actually, I learned of Kennedy's death from G.D.'s Twitter feed).

Speaking of Twitter, Atrios almost literally caught fire today. The Interwebs are a better place with him around.

As for Kennedy, it's not even a question that our country is a better place because he persevered through his tragedies and missteps and went on to devote his life to public service. We all owe him a debt that can never truly be repaid.

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How to be cool

If you're not reading my Twitter feed, then you're really not doing anything. Check out that link or the feed running down the right side of this blog.

Also, I will return to blogging like my fingertips are on fire in the coming hours and days. You've been warned. Continue Reading »

Sing, Dance, Stiff-Arm

Because football season makes me that happy. Enjoy the velvety pipes of Mizzou star linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, and then take time to appreciate twinkle-toed Michigan running back Mike Cox.

All I need now is a punter who is skilled with a tambourine to fill out the group. Holla if you know of anyone who fits the bill.






h/t EDSBS and Straight Bangin' Continue Reading »

Palm-ela Hand-erson doesn't believe you

Among Time's list of the 50 top Web sites for 2009, there's not a single porn site.

Of course, maybe the magazine editors simply misspelled the name of Supercook.com.

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Free period: Your Monday Random-Ass Roundup

Am I supposed to boycott companies who advertise on Glenn Beck's show, or am I supposed to boycott Glenn Beck's show? This is too hard. Who wants to have a viewing party for Beck's return to air tonight? Anyone? Two-and-a-half million people can't be wrong, can they?


Like we always do about this time, we've posted Your Monday Random-Ass Roundup over at PostBourgie. It's bigger and better (maybe?) than ever before: more about health care because this shit is important; the U.S. loses its claim to moral authority; Texas' troubles in its education and prison systems; a review of Superhead's latest work (a book); and why a slim majority of Americans prefer good sleep to sex.

In all, 30 items for you all to enjoy. So, enjoy. Continue Reading »