Let's Chase Eachother Around the Oval Office

If you don't believe me that Obama isn't so bad, maybe you'll listen to Merle Haggard.

"It's really almost criminal what they do with our president," Haggard said. "There seems to be no shame or anything. They call him all kinds of names all day long, saying he's doing certain things that he's not. It's just a big old political game that I don't want to be part of."

I'm going to guess he's a bit of an outlier in Muskogee these days.

Merry Belated Christmas!

Went home for the holidays, then got wicked sick on Sunday. As Led Zeppelin said, good times, bad times, you know I had my share... all in 5 days!

This Week in Being Nuts

If you are crazy this week, you might have done these things:

Called for a boycott of the upcoming movie, Thor, because there is a black guy in it.

Called for the end of the Methodist Church. Actually, you might have said...

"In short, if you hate America, you have a great future in the Methodist church," he says.

Tried to get all of your Supreme Court judges impeached because you disagree with them.

Thought about making a House Rep who said that global warming can't be real because Genesis says so the head of the House Energy Committee.

TOP 10 Albums of 2010

Top 10 Albums of 2010
1. Mumford and Sons- Sigh No More
2. SSLYBY- Let it Sway
3. Tallest Man on Earth- Wild Hunt
4. She & Him- Volume 2
5. Good Old War- Good Old War
6. Vampire Weekend- Contra
7. Josh Ritter- So Runs the World Away
8. Arcade Fire- The Suburbs
9. Harlem- Hippies
10. Blitzen Trapper- Destroyer of the Void

AA has been harping on me for the past few weeks to post this list. i think it gives him comfort to know he is not alone in the list-making world. hope this makes your day, friend!

this has been one of the best years in music that i can recall, and yet this became one of the easiest years for me to pick my Top 10. i really turned to these 10 albums more than any other this past year, and they never let me down. i know this will be up for some debate, but i deemed Mumford and Sons eligible based on the US release date of their album (Irish was 2009 i think). but hey...my list, my call. though i may have spun "Let it Sway" more often, i just couldn't get over the guttural effect that "Sigh No More" has on me every time i press play thus securing it's position as the best album of 2010.

Top 10 songs list is forthcoming

Don't Mess With Women from New Mexico

Ouch.

When the victim began arguing with her 44-year-old mother-in-law, the older woman allegedly "grabbed (the victim's) right breast and began to squeeze and pull on her nipple." The victim yelled to stop, but her mother-in-law allegedly continued to pull until the younger woman began punching her in the face, according to the police report.

The victim then told police she threw her mother-in-law into the yard, but the older woman allegedly kicked in the back door and had to be physically removed again. It was when the victim was putting her mother-in-law's belongings in the yard that she felt fluid on her breast and realized there was blood on her shirt. When she untucked her tank top, her nipple fell on the floor, she told police.

In the story it explains that everyone had been drinking. How much does one have to drink before they don't realize when their nipple is torn off? I would think a lot.

A Good Rant

Kevin Drum rants today in a way that channels my fears about America. It's interesting because I think many people have a similar feeling, there is a hopelessness to it that keeps those people from ranting about it all the time, and it occassionally boils over when we see something that just seems like too much. But, make no mistake, it is always there.

Anyway, instead of ranting myself, I'll just let the guy who already wrote it well rant for me.

I can't remember when I've been more demoralized about American governance. I have this overwhelming feeling of barnacles building up relentlessly, untouchable because of interest group pressure on both left and right, and a complete inability and/or unwillingness to address any of it. Democrats have some things they want to do, but in addition to satisfying their own interest groups they have to settle for third or fourth best policies because Republicans have simply decided they don't care about anything except tax cuts for the rich, hating gay people, and bennies for favored industries. In the middle of a massive recession they opposed a stimulus bill. In the aftermath of a financial crisis they opposed a financial reform bill. In the face of skyrocketing healthcare costs they demagogued modest cuts in Medicare spending. They spent months negotiating a spending bill — transparently, openly, via the ordinary committee process — and then killed it just because it would annoy Harry Reid. Global warming is a hoax, gay recruits will destroy the military, and creationism is an appropriate topic for high school biology classes. Our infrastructure is crumbling and our schools are mediocre, but the creeping encrustation of government prevents anything serious from being done about either. We're in hock to Middle Eastern theocracies for our oil, and the laughable answer from the right consists entirely of nukes and a bit of marginal extra drilling around the periphery of America. An arms control treaty that could have been negotiated by Ronald Reagan himself is unsure of passage because too many Republican senators deem it unsafe to risk the wrath of Fox News or their tea party constituencies.

Democrats have their pathologies too. Teachers unions really do impede school reform. Public sector unions have bid up government salaries. Environmental and land use rules have made infrastructure development of any kind a grueling, expensive marathon. Both parties subsidize idiocies like corn ethanol, and both sides boast coal state senators who are unwilling to think seriously about pricing carbon.

But at least we all have access to 300 TV channels in glorious high definition! Who says America can't accomplish great things anymore?

I think that about sums it up.

That's It

The last stand alone store selling new music (there are still some resale shops) I can think of in Kansas City is shutting down.

The Facebook page for Streetside in Kansas City announced the closing, and a store manager confirmed the development. Other questions were referred to officials at parent company Trans World Entertainment Corp., who could not be reached Wednesday.

So, if you want music now you better have an Internet connection... or a box store and some mainstream taste.

Word of the Day

Globalization - A process whereby the average American realizes he is the least traveled item in his house.

Best Songs of 2010

As I mentioned yesterday, it was a great music year. I put down a bunch of the best songs from the top 10 albums on that list. But there were a bunch of other great songs too. Here are some of them:

Rill Rill - Sleigh Bells
Who Makes Your Money - Spoon
You Must Be Out of Your Mind - Magnetic Fields
Evening Kitchen - Band of Horses
Sink/Let it Sway - SSLYBY
Cold War - The Morning Benders
Lonely at the Top - Jamey Johnson
Wanna-be Angel - Foxy Shazam
Electrocution - Nada Surf
Power Lies - The Thermals

For an overall Top 10 songs of the year, I'll go:

1. City With No Children - Arcade Fire
2. Juveniles - The Walkmen
3. I Think Ur a Contra - Vampire Weekend
4. The Water - Johnny Flynn
5. You Must Be Out of Your Mind - Magentic Fields
6. Be Your Baby - Harlem
7. Everlasting Light - The Black Keys
8. The Wild Hunt - The Tallest Man On Earth
9. Cold War -The Morning Benders
10. Cloud Shadow on the Mountain - Wolf Parade

NBA Unlikely

Sam Mellinger does some nice reporting and thinking about what makes an NBA relocation to Kansas City unlikely. This is the most important part:

American City Business Journals did a study that showed the Kansas City region’s total income is $57 billion short of what’s needed to support the teams we already have — let alone 41 NBA home dates with an average ticket price around $50.

We make up the nation’s 31st biggest market, according to Nielsen. No. 23 Pittsburgh is the smallest with three major-league teams, and remember they almost lost the NHL’s Penguins and the Pirates are consistently near the bottom of MLB attendance.

Actually, Nielsen's 09-10 numbers have us down a spot to 32. Right in front of us is Salt Lake City who has only one pro team. The only three smaller markets with two teams are Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and New Orleans.

So instead of adding, why don't we start pursuing a trade. Just imagine how far a baseball would travel in that Salt Lake City air...

Top Ten Albums of 2010

Consistently one of my favorite posts each year... and the only one I spend months preparing.

My favorite album not eligible because my buddy did it: American Weekend by Dallas Jones. If you don't know who Dallas is, do yourself a favor and check him out. He's a good guy to boot.

As for the others, whose personal virtues I cannot speak for, here is the list (along with two favorite tracks from each).

1. Contra - Vampire Weekend
(I Think Ur a Contra, White Sky)
2. Lisbon - The Walkmen
(Juveniles, Stranded)
3. The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
(City With No Children, Modern Man)
4. Brothers - The Black Keys
(Everlasting Light, Howlin' For You)
5. Been Listening - Johnny Flynn
(The Water, Amazon Love)
6. High Violet - The National
(Conversation 16, Bloodbuzz Ohio)
7. Sigh No More - Mumford & Sons
(The Cave, Winter Winds)
8. Hippies - Harlem
(Be Your Baby, Friendly Ghost)
9. Expo 86 - Wolf Parade
(Cloud Shadow on the Mountain, Cave-o-sapien)
10. The Wild Hunt - The Tallest Man on Earth
(The Wild Hunt, Love is All)

This was a rough year. I almost disqualified Mumford & Sons since it was actually released last year (but this year for the U.S.). I kept em in thought since they weren't in last year's list. Honestly, though I could have used another spot. I think I could have done a top 25 without much effort. Great music this year!

Best songs post coming tomorrow...

Big Bowl of Interesting Stuff

People continue to assert that tax cuts are unfailingly successful at stimulating the economy... with virtually no evidence to support such an assertion.

Extending unemployment benefits, on the other hand, is helpful.

Turns out healthcare rationing is actually a threat... brought on by Republican decision-makers in Arizona.

Fried chicken is no more at Power & Light.

If I read this right, having a pleasant disposition helps you figure stuff out faster.

Kansas City still isn't getting an NBA team, but one is available.

Christian Takeover

Why is it important to defend a seperation of church and state? This is why:

After Williamson sent a fact sheet to SREC members defending Straus, Cook responded by dismissing her claims and saying that "We elected a house with Christian, conservative values. We now want a true Christian, conservative running it." Since the SREC governs state Republican Party affairs, this marked the first time an elected party leader had semi-openly called for a "Christian conservative" Speaker.

This is referring to a campaign to get the Jewish Republican speaker of the Texas House replaced by a Christian Republican speaker of the Texas House. Read the whole thing if you want to get more familiar with how oppressed Christians are in this country.

Actually, I'm Familiar

From Married to the Sea:

Republicans Reminding Me Why I am Not a Republican

On my way in this morning, there was a story on NPR about Republicans blocking the extension of unemployment benefits unless they could be paid for with other cuts. I would disagree with that priority, but if it is a principled stand, then that is a reasonable position.

But, of course, it isn't. Republicans in the Senate are also threatening to shut down all government business unless all of the Bush tax cuts are extended... whether they are paid for or not.

So if you are unemployed and sturggling because the economy sucks, well you are out of luck. But if you make $1 million a year, don't worry. Republicans have your back.

When YouTube Sucks

Yesterday, I missed a great opportunity to pass along a Dangerous Minds blogpost that the Back to Rockville blog had reposted. It had YouTube videos that broke up all the different recording tracks that made up the Stones' Gimme Shelter.

It was awesome. But now it has been taken down because ABKCO has the rights and isn't sharing. I hate it when this happens.