Mixed-media on newspares 100/80 CM 2001

Poor Capitalists.

Too bad, so sad.  They didn’t think of what a GORGEOUS opportunity it would be to take advantage of the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people.”  Hey, this is a capitalistic society … why are moneymakers so late to the game and so deluded about it?

Snake Oil salesmen have been around FOREVER … and I don’t really see the issue with taking advantage if no one’s health is at risk.  Climate change is no hoax … notwithstanding – what asshats for failing to make a buck!

Face it, GM, Chrysler, Ford … those guys missed out when Carter was President during the other fuel crisis.  What the hay?  They had ALL THIS TIME to use capitalism to their advantage.  Guess what?  GIANT FAIL.  Yes, I think this is why the President said ..buck the f*** up!  Get it together, you had ALL these years, and you refused to take advantage of what was right in front of your face … it really was RIGHT THERE.

The same holds true now.  But, instead, just like then … corporations (Chamber of Commerce is  GUILTY) is whining, and crying, and boo hooing…AND ignoring the fact that they could BANK ON THIS GREEN ‘BULLS***”

Are they really that stupid?

The answer is yes.  Against their better interests, they lost American innovation, allowed the Dutch to build a better levee (with the result of far too many deaths), and woe is them decided against building a better …. whatever.

Such is the cost of being an idiot.

Capitalism is the foundation of American society … the Rockefellers’ knew it … and because of greed, and misplaced outrage, it’s not changing.  And, it’s no ones fault but theirs … but the COST is ours.

Truer words than this have not been spoken for a while: “What I want to see is a stable nation wherein east respects west, north respects south, where farms are held in the same esteem as the merchants and longshoremen along our coasts who move their produce from port to port, nation to nation. I want to see innovation return to the United States in the form of revitalized industry”

Let’s do this please, and let’s not be jackasses about it.

And so do I.  The vermont state employees union negotiated at pay cut for the employees they represent.  Of course THEY raised their dues over 18 percent. ahahahahaha

They are playing the employees like the fools they are.  SUCKERS!!   HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Note: the lack of capitals represents a lack of respect and not a lack of grammer.

Vines can be tough to grow on walls that radiate heat. The front of our house faces west, two of the walls face southwest and one wall faces northwest. The two that face southwest are particularly hard on plants, especially during the hot summer months.

I started with five vines called Lady Bank’s Rose. They lasted about seven years. They produced beautiful, white flowers similar to small, wild roses every March. They do well in full sun and reflected heat with moderate watering. Unfortunately, they became very woody, lost most of their leaves, and stopped producing the white flowers.

I replaced Lady Bank’s Rose with Lilac vines. These are fast growing, low water, evergreen vines with purple flowers that last from winter to spring. I planted five, fifteen gallon plants. The four that were planted on the southwest facing walls did not do well. The leaves that came in direct contact with the wall, turned brown and fell off. The one vine that I planted on the northwest wall did very well. It has lots of new growth, it is growing rapidly up the wall, and the leaves have a nice, deep green color.

I pulled out four of the Lilac vines and will replant them in the backyard in shadier locations. Since the vine on the northwest wall is doing very well, I left it there. After another trip to the nursery and consulting with the staff, I now have four, fifteen gallon Tecoma Orange Jubilee vines. They have beautiful, orange tubular flower clusters and deep, green leaves. They look good in their fifteen gallon pots, hopefully they will look good on the walls!

Protesters disrupt Gore book-signing event in Chicago
Article: Truth Is Contagious

Justin Mangano, from Australia, was beaming after Al Gore signed his book Tuesday when his star-struck moment was interrupted by a protester being hauled out of the Borders bookstore in the Chicago Loop.

Gore was at the book store promoting the just released “Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis.” Fans were there to get his autograph and opponents came to challenge his message. Members of the group, We Are Change, were the most outspoken of Gore’s naysayers at the former vice president’s appearance at 150 N. State St. Gore’s security guards escorted the protesters from the store.

The We Are Change group contends that Gore’s message of global warming is a hoax, that he is a puppet of a new world order and that he is propagating a eugenics program.

The group claims it is “a citizens based grassroots peace and social justice movement working to reveal the truth behind the events of September 11th, as well as the lies of the government and corporate elite who remain suspect in this crime.”

“We need to wake up to this now, or it’s going to be too late. They want to tax the air we breathe and the meat we eat,” said activist Saad Ali, one of about 30 protesters at the event. ‘There are 30,000 scientists trying to sue this bum,” he screamed as he was escorted from the building.

But Gore’s fans weren’t interested in what the protesters were shouting.

Monika Hinterman, who got Gore to sign her book, said she was impressed that he was paying so much attention to climate change.

Gore’s fans weren’t interested in what the protesters were shouting because? Because they’re probably a bunch of mindless liberal drones who don’t care about facts, scientific evidence, and anything that proves that “global warming” is, in fact, a complete hoax. Just like “Barack Obama is BLAAAACK” is a lie. He’s so not. Of course Monika was impressed he’s paying so much attention to climate change. Teen fiction literature is one of today’s hot topics. He’s been busy writing these fictional books and making up fraudulent evidence… it takes a lot of work to fool this many people. Well, actually it doesn’t. It takes a lot of work to educate the libtards on the TRUTH.

“I think he’s trying to make people more aware of the issues that have gone unnoticed for too long,” Hinterman said.

Some who came to meet Gore at the book signing said that while they support free speech, the event was not the best place for a protest.

“If you have a point of view, put some facts and figures to it. Express yourself with support behind it,” said Sabolch Horvat, who carried a signed copy of the book under his arm.

Nicole Lynch bought the book to make up her mind about the science that the protesters questioned. She said she approves of his efforts to get people to take better care of the planet.

“I’m not saying he’s perfect, and I would call him out if I knew he screwed up,” Lynch said. “I’m not afraid to speak my mind.”

Well, Nicole; allow me to help you. Read my post on Al Gore and his fraudulent global warming scam HERE: An Inconvenient Al.

- BBC has found that we have not observed any increase in global temperatures for the last 11 years. Yes, that’s over ONE DECADE

- The average temperature of the water near the top of the Earth’s oceans has significantly cooled since 2003

I’m sure most of you are familiar with these images that have been circulating the blogosphere:

First, let me point out that Al Gore has failed at proving that Global Warming exists. That’s like trying to prove that Santa exists. Sure, wouldn’t it be dandy? But facts are facts and fiction is fiction. So, what does a has-been politician do when his life’s work has been proven time and time again to be a fraud? Well, if this has-been politician is Al Gore; he resorts to Photoshopping “evidence”. I mean, Photoshop trumps science, right? Wrong. Sorry, Al. It doesn’t. Just like whining about pregnant chads doesn’t win an election. YES, we all remember your whiny ass complaining about pregnant chads and dimples on ballots.

In the images above you can clearly see that several massive hurricanes have been Photoshopped. It’s been proven that hurricanes are at a 30 year low. Here are some graphs I found at Watts Up With That:

Both Northern Hemisphere and South Hemisphere AND therefore overall Global hurricane activity has continued to sink to levels not seen since the 1970s. Even more astounding, when the Southern Hemisphere hurricane data is analyzed to create a global value, we see that Global Hurricane Energy has sunk to 30-year lows, at the least. Since hurricane intensity and detection data is problematic as one goes back in time, when reporting and observing practices were different than today, it is possible that we underestimated global hurricane energy during the 1970s.

Using a well-accepted metric called the Accumulated Cyclone Energy index or ACE for short (Bell and Chelliah 2006), which has been used by Klotzbach (2006) and Emanuel (2005) (PDI is analogous to ACE), and most recently by myself in Maue (2009) , simple analysis shows that 24-month running sums of global ACE or hurricane energy have plummeted to levels not seen in 30 years.

Why use 24-month running sums instead of simply yearly values? Since a primary driver of the Earth’s climate from year to year is the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) acts on time scales on the order of 2-7 years, and the fact that the bulk of the Southern Hemisphere hurricane season occurs from October – March, a reasonable interpretation of global hurricane activity requires a better metric than simply calendar year totals. The 24-month running sums is analogous to the idea of “what have you done for me lately”. During the past 6 months, extending back to October of 2008 when the Southern Hemisphere tropical season was gearing up, global ACE had crashed due to two consecutive years of well-below average Northern Hemisphere hurricane activity. To avoid confusion, I am not specifically addressing the North Atlantic, which was above normal in 2008 (in terms of ACE), but the hemisphere (and or globe) as a whole. The North Atlantic only represents a 1/10 to 1/8 of global hurricane energy output on average but deservedly so demands disproportionate media attention due to the devastating societal impacts of recent major hurricane landfalls.

Interesting, indeed. Visit Watts Up With That for more information. Unless you’re a liberal. From what I understand; you liberals aren’t all that interested in facts and information. But, it’s there if you ever decide to quit being morons.

If you look at the second image I posted; the one with the faux-hurricanes… you’ll notice that the Arctic has magically disappeared! Funny, since the Arctic ice is currently at the SAME levels as 1979. The good people at Daily Tech pointed this out.

(click to enlarge)

Rapid growth spurt leaves amount of ice at levels seen 29 years ago.

Thanks to a rapid rebound in recent months, global sea ice levels now equal those seen 29 years ago, when the year 1979 also drew to a close.

Visit Daily Tech for more information.

Also, NASA points out that the average temperature of the water near the top of the Earth’s oceans has significantly cooled since 2003. CLICK FOR NASA ARTICLE

BBC has found that we have not observed any increase in global temperatures for the last 11 years. Yes, that’s over ONE DECADE. CLICK FOR BBC ARTICLE

So… tell me… Why does Florida appear to be dissolving in Al Gore’s lame Photoshopped images? What the hell happened to CUBA? Last time I checked; Cuba still exists. Also; look at the SIZE of those faux-hurricanes. Anyone who actually believes this Global Warming bullshit simply WANTS to. There is no other conclusion.

Here’s something fun:
Letting Al Gore know we aren’t falling for his junk science, Portland, Oregon 11/18/09

Wake up, people. He’s cashing in and making BILLIONS off of easily influenced MORONS.

‘‘Sec. 2711. No lifetime or annual limits.
‘‘Sec. 2712. Prohibition on rescissions.

There is one fact that all insurance companies face, not only one, but two.

Limits and exclusions.

But how could you expect a group of people that know no limits to spending, that are spending us into ruin, know the value of limits.

Without limits there is no ceiling for which the rates can be set or controlled. If you cannot control the limits, then you cannot control the cost. If you can’t control the cost, the cost is not affordable.

This is a fact that has been lost on Congress.

This bill is designed to:

1. Bankrupt ALL commercial insurance companies.
2. By means of elimination of free enterprise, force everyone onto the government option.

I also find it odd that they believe one should be able to buy auto insurance after an accident and the insurance company is liable for the accident.

Sec. 1101. Immediate access to insurance for uninsured individuals with a preexisting
condition

That is exactly what immediate access to insurance is. You break a leg and file for insurance, and the insurance foots the bill. Something for nothing. You cannot control the cost.

THIS IS NOT AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL AMERICANS, JUST FOR THE FREE LOADER OF AMERICA. THE REST OF US PAY OUT THE ASS AND OUR PROVIDERS GO BELLY UP.

Socialism is just a fancy word for slavery.

That is not just the view from here,

Duane

Here’s the playlist for music selected by the DJ at the Fleur-de-Lys Club last night at The Lexington. Another great selection of new and established artists, if we don’t mind so saying ourselves!

1. ‘Myrkfaelni’ by Blindfold
2. ‘House by The Sea’ by Tim & Sam’s Tim & The Sam Band
3. ‘Caroline No’ by Brian Wilson (Superimposers remix)
4. ‘Summer Light’ by The Cave Singers
5. ‘The General Specific’ by Band of Horses
6. ‘Until Tomorrow Then’ by Ed Harcourt
7. ‘Where Horses Roam’ by Look, Stranger!
8. ‘Old Days’ by Treetop Flyers
9. ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ by The Maccabees
10. ‘Love Your Crooked Neighbour’ by Melodica Melody & Me
11. ‘Lesson Number 7’ by Clock Opera
12. ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
13. ‘Zorbing’ by Stornoway
14. ‘Diamond Ring’ by Bo Diddley
15. ‘Fire Water’ by Django Django
16. ‘No Atmosphere’ by The Bees
17. ‘Airplanes’ by Local Natives
18. ‘Tobasco Sole’ by Voluntary Butler Scheme
19. ‘Insistor’ by Tapes ‘n’ Tapes
20. ‘Patterns’ by Band of Skulls
21. ‘Two Weeks of Hip Hop’ by Dead Prez v Grizzly Bear
22. ‘A New Name’ by !!!
23. ‘Beach Queen’ by Suckers
24. ‘Sleepyhead’ by Passion Pit (Run Toto Run remix)
25. ‘Rain Dance’ by The Very Best feat M.I.A.
26. ‘Teardrops’ by The XX

New thought: Why wait in the cold for the bus at 8:30 p.m. (at the end of a loooong line, no doubt) when you could just park in the pay lots?

It’s the best $7.50 I ever spent on this campus.  I knew I had a lot of things to carry around all day, so I sacrificed and paid the meter.  In between classes I deposited my laptop and books into my trunk, grabbed my lunch and saved my spine from further injury.

Advice:  Don’t bother going to the Javitz pay lot after 9 a.m.  Try Union lot instead.  Also, don’t waste your quarters on the S.A.C. lot meters.

Hey want to play video games?  I’ll pay you.

*proceeds to pay anywhere from $1-$4*

Japan, where the weird gets Bizarre…

these skirts and tops..

sexy very sexy…

u think u can see the panty and the bra???

WRONG…

these are prints…

guys are suckers!!!

they would jerk to anything!!!

it’s been about half a year since i introduced brooklyn psychfolksters suckers‘ debut self titled ep as one of my favorite new releases of the year, and it’s a good sign that it still features strongly on my regular playlist. so i was really excited when i read from taylor’s blog (pop over for his awesome track review) of their upcoming single “save your love for me”. i spent a good part of the day listening repeatedly to this gorgeous track, which really takes its time to unfold and stretch out in all its glory. the band has clearly matured in this short time in producing a masterpiece such as this, one that manages to sound both delicate and sweeping, and which projects the personal themes of the song – of love and growing old – as an experience that’s concurrently intimate and shared communally. in doing so it goes beyond expressing what means so much to them to universalizing that sentiment by making it something that means so much to us as well. - dan.

mp3: suckers – save your love for me

save your love for me will be self-released on 7″ later this month.

You look down America, have a sucker on me.

Recommended Reading: Obama Lied; The Economy Died – Commentary by Tony Blankley.

Is it now time to admit, the Obama administration is evil?

So ever since I discovered cakeballs on the Bakerella site, I’ve wanted to make them – yet somehow, I’d never made the time. But today, I saw that my domestically (among many other things) gifted friend Melissa made these kickass ghost cakeball pops for her office.

I had to do it. Sadly, I couldn’t find the sticks to make them into pops on such short notice, but I think just plain creepy cakeballs will do the trick – and treat!

Nightmare-Inducing Goblin Balls

• Cake mix + eggs + water + oil
• Can of cream cheese frosting
• Chocolate – one package of Baker’s white chocolate does a dozen balls

I will make my own homemade cake next time, but in the interest of time, I just bought a mix – and this marks the first time I’ve ever made a cake not from scratch in my life! In any case, follow the instructions on the mix and bake the cake. Set on a cooling rack.

When the cake is cool, crumble it with your hands. This is a kind of messy process, but I like that kind of thing. When it’s all crumbled, scoop in the contents of the can of icing. Alternatively here, Melissa says you can use half a brick of softened cream cheese – which, again, I will most definitely do the next time as I found the fake icing a little over the top with the sweetness. In any case, when you do this part, you will need to smoosh the crumbles and the goo together with your hands – this part is seriously icky, like making mud pies, but it’s all part of the process!

Once this part is done, get out a baking tray and line with wax paper. Start forming the cake-frosting mixture into small balls with a circumference of about a quarter. This will make about four dozen little balls (both Melissa’s and mine made exactly 44), but it takes no time at all. Note that if you rinse your hands after every dozen or so balls, you make the rolling process a lot easier on yourself as when dough starts sticking to your hands, it will start sticking to the next ball as well. In any case, if you have lollipop sticks, this is the point at which you’d stick them in.

Throw the balls/pops into the freezer for a bit – or if your freezer, like mine, is a vertical one on the side of your fridge, making it too skinny for a wide baking tray (sigh), toss them in the fridge for an hour or so. When they’re sufficiently cold, melt white chocolate in a double boiler. (I don’t have a double boiler and alternatively boil water and then add a smaller pot on top of it, in which I melt the chocolate.)

Dip and cool! Now, I found the white chocolate very hard to work with – the cake bits kept crumbling into the whiteness and it was really visible to me. I did the first 22 with that stuff, then switched over to dark chocolate for the second round. I suspect that I should have used maybe double that amount of white chocolate, or a different variety of white chocolate, as it didn’t coat my little ghosts as much as Melissa’s did in her picture above!

This was much easier to work with and the chocolate ones came out looking great! Overall, I think the whole thing would’ve been easier if I’d been dipping in lollipopped cakeballs, as working with the spoon was quite challenging and the balls kept sticking to it as I tried to pop them back onto the pan, so I’ll definitely do that next time.

Melissa said to use edible ink for the faces, but I have no such thing, so I tried using more melted dark chocolate and drawing on spooky eyes and a mouth on the white chocolate ones with a toothpick. It definitely looked creepy – but in a kind of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane way more than a ghost way. (See, some look okay, but others – like Mr. Third-Column-Second-Row-From-the-Front – look totally freakish, like they were made by either a deranged person… or an uncoordinated child. Hah.)

Dave said I should’ve packaged them in twos (one chocolate, one white) and called them Nightmare-Inducing Goblin Balls before taking them to work. (He then laughed hysterically at himself. Because maturity is at a high level in our household, I did as well and changed the name of the recipe. Har.)

But, whatever, they’re fun and they’re creepy – and, most importantly, edible!

Punctuality is rarely a quality in musicians, so the fact that the NME Showcase on Thursday was off-schedule by 2 hours, is inconsequential. The music was well worth the wait.

The Delancey was swimming with people both outside and inside the venue, itching to get a glance at some of the top names at CMJ this year—We Are Enfant Terrible, Reni Lane, Yes Giantess, Suckers, Delorean, The Antlers, Male Bonding, Bear Hands, and an “X-rated special guest.” Clever.

Barcelona beat producers Delorean, the generally unkempt dance-pop dudes, got the crowd to jump and shake and bob, performing tracks from their catalogue. But then, after a long prep session, the stage switched gears completely, welcoming Brooklyn trio The Antlers, the much-hyped creators of break-out album “Hospice” (French Kiss Records, 2009). The members started off whimsically, prefacing “Bear,” as Peter Silberman’s voice grew and quivered, soaked in melancholy, sweat slapping his guitar. They followed with more tracks from “Hospice” and after each one Silberman seemed to weep a little, which lent his voice increasing character. But the problem with performing such a conceptual album—“Hospice” has a streaming narrative throughout detailing death and love—is that you can’t match its theatrics. But instead, when played live it acquires a guttural feeling, almost desperate, clamoring for attention with its loudness. A compliment, I swear. Not better or worse, just different.

Antlers closed abruptly after playing only five songs, but appropriately with the beautifully elevating “Two.” Silberman sang “Then they stuck you in machines, you came so close to dying/They should have listened, they thought that you were lying,” emotion spilling onto the audience. So in the end, media hype here is justified. The Antlers are just good.

Following up a highly-anticipated band can be jarring, but Bear Hands were just the men to do it. Their brand of pop-punk/funk alt brought a lot of personality to the cramped room, performing tracks from their “Golden EP” and other live favorites, like “Vietnam,” which opened the set with attitude blaring from lead singer and admittedly mediocre guitarist—his opinion, not mine—Dylan Rau’s lips. It was another five-song set, but even in just those five, it was obvious this band has it. I don’t quite know what that it is, but I’m fervently sure that it exists.

There’s no better example of this than when they perform “Sickly Brunette,” drummer TJ Orscher flailing his sticks; bassist Val Loper taking a break from his funky bass line to accompany Orscher on percussion, vindictive on his floor tom; guitarist Ted Feldman engrossed in his chords; Rau devouring the mic, feet pigeon-toed scurrying like an awkward James Brown. The irony of it all: they’re from Connecticut.

So experience Bear Hands’ itness for yourself. Visit the band’s MySpace for new tracks and info on upcoming shows in Connecticut and Sao Paulo, Brazil (Viagem segura!).

You would think they would have a somewhat decent band to preface the headliners, the x-traordinary special guests (ok, fine, you twisted my arm, it was The xx). But no, someone decided to book Male Bonding, a UK troop that by definition blow. Since I don’t know their names and don’t really care to, my recap will be shallow. Pink Pants hopped around stage, making sounds with his guitar. Where’s Waldo dude sat behind drums. And Ahmet Zappa talked into the mic. This is all.  

But then The xx regaled all with their pre-pubescent looking presence, all black attire, and minimalist tunes. Part of the majesty of the Londoners’ performance is the presentation, as they all line up facing the crowd, doing drastically different things with drastically different demeanors. They quieted down the noisy showcase with tracks like “Crystalised,” “Basic Space,” and “Islands” from their 2009 LP “xx,” embodying the noir/new wave appeal of the album, proclaiming their talent subtly to eager Lower East Siders. So thanks, kids. That was by far one of the true highlights of CMJ weekend.

-Paola Capo-Garcia

It’s my first rock and roll show!  If any of you are worried Dad bought me a set of ear muffs to protect my hearing and a fake ID that says I was born in 1988.

Hacienda. Courtesy of daytrotter.com (http://twitpic.com/n3rnm).

The good people at Daytrotter brought not one, not two, but three awesome rock and roll combos to Huckleberry’s Great Pizza: Hacienda, Suckers, and Corto Maltese.  It was really loud, but I managed to sleep through just about everything.  I liked that Corto Maltese did Television’s ‘See No Evil’ — Dad plays this song a lot.  I liked it when the man from Suckers played his maraca and yelled.  And I liked it when Hacienda told jokes about how they don’t know how to play their songs.

Here it comes!  The annual holiday that causes children (and adults!) to gorge on candy!  While we are all guilty of overindulging on candy corn, caramel, and suckers, there’s good news…this one day won’t result is complete tooth decay.  Phew!

When it comes to slurpin’ down corn syrup-y treats, it all depends on how often and not necessarily on how much.  It would be better to polish off a two liter of favorite sugary soda in one sitting than to sip on a soda all day…but we don’t encourage either!  (Did you know there are about 10 teaspoons of sugar in each 12 ounces of soda…now THAT is scary!)  Oh, and that bag of mini Tootsie Rolls that you had stashed away for Halloween night that you decided to polish off last night?  No immediate worries.  Now if it were a nightly ritual, you may have a cause for concern!

In 2008, The National Confectioners Association said 93 percent of children in the United States went trick-or-treating.  That’s a whole lot of mouths with a whole lot of teeth!  And even more amazing is that the average American consumes 25 pounds of candy each year!  Blasphemy!

But before you panic about your undeniable sweet tooth, the truth is, a little brush and swish after the candy is the key to long-lasting, cavity-free teeth.  The worst you can do?  Go to sleep without brushing and flossing!  When you’re sleeping, the sugar begins to bond to the enamel coating your teeth, and well, we all know what happens then.

Kellerman Dental believes oral health as a kid is critical to oral health as an adult.  But we all know that a little motivation helps, too!  That’s why kids and parents love our Cavity Free Club.  Kids get the opportunity to win prizes for attending regular visits and being cavity free, and parents get the satisfaction of promoting great oral care!

So what happens when they are cavity free?  First, kids can have their picture taken and posted on our giant tooth board.  Then, they enter their name for out monthly prize, that can be anything from tickets to Six Flags to a brand new bike!  Remind your gremlins that cutting back their candy intake has perks in the long run too!

So, this Halloween, you should be that awesome house on the street that is offering toothbrushes in every color imaginable.  Kids love the surprise (and parents do too!) and besides, who needs another Snickers or Reeses when they already have thirty packed deep into their bags and buckets.

Trick or Toothbrush..it has a nice ring to it, eh?  Happy Halloween!

Example of what too much candy can do to your teeth!  Ahhh!

Fads come and go like the wind. Some just keep biting you in the butt.

My Links

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depositfiles.com

megaupload.com

Good times! My comments to come later… I’m tired y’all!

Thursday night there’s not really one place with a line-up of truly stand out bands that I’ve never seen before.  It’s probably going to be the running around from place to place the entire night.  Still, the Delancey has a pretty great lineup if you’re feeling kind of tired.  Male Bonding, Bear Hands, Delorean, The Antlers, Yes Giantess (weird electro band, for fans of Passion Pit), and Suckers.  The Antlers and Suckers alone would enough for a killer bill, but adding on these other interesting little bands makes this the showcase of the night.

Also of note is the Smith Westerns from Chicago.  They’re playing twice, once at Shea Stadium and once at Don Pedro for Impose Magazine’s party (free Colt 45!).  I really like their lo-fi scuzz, and definitely plan on making it to the Impose party.

MP3: “Imagine Pt. 3″ – The Smith Westerns

I have two picks for tomorrow night, and I’d suggest somehow running around between the two of them to optimize your band-age (though they are kind of far apart).  By the way, these shows are only free if you have a badge.  First, Fool’s Gold, Suckers, and New Villager at Bowery Poetry Club.  Fool’s Gold are not from NY, are very cool, and are probably my Numero Uno band to see during the festival.  My second choice for the evening is Monster Island Basement.  Ducktails and Best Coast (also not from New York!) are both playing.  So are Highlife and Fluffy Lumbers.  I know literally nothing about those two bands, but I’m betting they’re good considering the company they’re keeping.  Oh, and if you can stay up amazingly late, then I’d definitely hit up the 10pm show at Le Poisson Rouge with NinjaSonik and The Very Best.

MP3: “In My Room” – Best Coast

Some still refuse to see the truth

The Obama administration’s betrayals of liberalism are ubiquitous. Has he ever kept a single one of his campaign promises? They could hardly be called promises anyway, since Obama had such a long history of voting “present” before he ran for President. Way back in January, 2008, I was asking Obama supporters to name an issue that he really cared about enough to stand and fight.

I never got a clear answer–because Obama never made those kinds of commitments. He was always wishy-washy and all over the place when it came to important issues. Yet we are still seeing passionate Obama supporters who fail to deal with this reality. Here are three examples of Obama administration betrayals that I found today in about 10 minutes of ‘net surfing.

Outrage #1

Long-time Obama stooge and Huffpo columnist Sam Stein reports today that unnamed “Hill aides” have complained to him that the votes for the public option would be there in the Senate if only President Obama would step up and fight for its inclusion in the health care reform bill.

“There is a clear sense that it would be helpful,” said one senior Democratic aide. “Throughout this entire debate the White House line has been ‘We will weigh in when it is necessary’…. Well now we need 60 votes. So if it’s not necessary now, then when will it be?”

“I think folks in general in Congress were looking to the president to clearly define his feeling on the issue,” another aide said. “And I don’t think he has done that on the public option from the get-go… With a lot of senators nervous because of elections or other political dynamics, it would be helpful for the president to send a strong signal that this is what he wants in the final bill.”

Let me get this straight. There are still people working for U.S. Senators who actually believe that Obama supports the inclusion of a public option in the bill?! And these morons are helping to run our government? No wonder things are so f**ked up! These “Hill aides” need to put down the Koolaid glass and step away from the punch bowl. Time for a reality check. Obama doesn’t care about the public option. He will only accept one if it is either completely neutered or forced on him. Pull up your britches and fight for it yourself!

Outrage #2

Bob Herbert, who has permanently destroyed his own credibility with his servile sucking up to Obama, both as candidate and as President, is horrified that the rich are getting richer quicker now than they did under George W. Bush.

I wrote a column that ran three days before Christmas in 2007 that focused on the deeply disturbing disconnect between Wall Streeters harvesting a record crop of bonuses — billions on top of billions — while working families were having a very hard time making ends meet.

We would later learn that December 2007 was the very month that the Great Recession began. I wrote in that column: “Even as the Wall Streeters are high-fiving and ordering up record shipments of Champagne and caviar, the American dream is on life support.”

So we had an orgy of bonuses just as the recession was taking hold and now another orgy (with taxpayers as the enablers) that is nothing short of an arrogantly pointed finger in the eye of everyone who suffered, and continues to suffer, in this downturn.

Whether P.T. Barnum actually said it or not, there is a sucker born every minute. American taxpayers might want to take a look in the mirror. If the epithet fits…

Time for you to look in the mirror, Bob. You helped foist this nightmarish presidency on the rest of us. Now you’re complaining that Obama helped out the investment bankers who gave him the money to run his campaign and celebrate his inauguration? Give me a break. You’re the sucker–and you used your powerful position in the media to ensure that the rich would get richer, the poor would get poorer, and the middle class would disappear. Well, to be honest, Herbert still isn’t blaming Obama. He has all kinds of complaints and suggestions, but he doesn’t deal with the fact that, as President, Obama is responsible for what’s happening. The government could have provided money to put people to work instead of handing the U.S. Treasury over to the banks. The government could institute regulations to prevent the bankers from using taxpayer money to fund their gambling habits and their obscene bonuses. But he didn’t. It was a choice.

Outrage #3

Remember that amendment that Al Franken pushed for? The amendment to prevent military contractors from getting away with rape? It turns out that the Defense Department opposed that amendment–with the support of the White House.

A message sent to senators Oct. 6, discovered by reporter Ryan Grimm, shows that Obama’s Pentagon opposed the measure.

“The DoD opposes the proposed amendment,” a message from the administration said.

A White House spokesman told Grimm they supported the amendment’s “intent.”

“We support the intent of the amendment, and we’re working with the conferees to make sure that it is enforceable,” spokesman Tommy Vietor said.

The intent? The White House supports the “intent” of the amendent (which is to allow victims of rape like gang-rape survivor Jamie Leigh Jones)? So what’s the problem?

“The Department of Defense, the prime contractor, and higher tier subcontractors may not be in a position to know about such things. Enforcement would be problematic, especially in cases where privity of contract does not exist between parties within the supply chain that supports a contract,” the Pentagon’s remarks added. “It may be more effective to seek a statutory prohibition of all such arrangements in any business transaction entered into within the jurisdiction of the United States, if these arrangements are deemed to pose an unacceptable method of recourse.”

Oh, I see. No. I don’t. WTF?! That sounds like stalling to me. It’s nothing but goblety-gook! It seems to me that simply making sure that rape victims can sue the employers who made their rapes possible ought to solve the problem. Honestly!

Obamaphiles have been painting the Republicans who voted against the amendment as pro-rape. What will they do now that it’s clear that White House was on the side of the pro-rape Repubs?

Here is what Ryam Grim had to say about this at Huffpo today:

The amendment, sponsored by Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), is intended to address the type of Kafka-esque treatment Jamie Leigh Jones received from the U.S. justice system after she was gang-raped by fellow KBR workers. The defense contractor argued that her employment contract required that her claim be heard in private arbitration rather than in open court.

When thirty Republicans lined up against an amendment that would have required defense contractors to allow their employees access to U.S. courts in cases of rape or sexual assault, Jon Stewart ripped them to pieces.

“I understand we’re a divided country, some disagreements on health care. How is ANYONE against this?” he wondered.

It’s a question, it turns out, best addressed to the White House.

It’s time some of the Koolaid drinkers went into detox and recovered the use of their frontal cortexes. Stop blaming everyone else but yourselves and Obama for the way things are going. Those of us who saw Obama for what he was and stayed true to our liberal beliefs could use a little help.

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