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Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Month: January 2009 Page 5 of 10

We Are One: Inaugural Concert Music and Photos

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On January 18, 2009

In DC, Personal, Politics, Society

(Update: high res slideshow of my photos here.)

I made it down to the Mall today, along with thousands and thousands and thousands of others who have high hopes for Barack Obama.

I’ve already posted about the highlight – Pete Seeger’s leading us all in This Land Is Your Land – but I thought I’d share a few of my favorite songs and some of my photographs.  Wasn’t even half way through the line to get into the secured areas when they shut it down, so my perspective is from waaaay back.  But you know what?  I think I lucked out – we had a blast in the back.

I’m listening to and enjoying the replay of it on HBO as I write this, and discovering some of the great – but quiet – tracks that I missed out there in the cheap seats.   This is what got us moving when we were there, though:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=malnd19Ttyk[/youtube]

So we danced some more,

to Stevie:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wZ3ZG_Wams[/youtube]

And for once, this seemed appropriate:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56mjwycKuXA[/youtube]

Keep reaching.

Bigger versions – and a few more – of these pictures here, if you’re interested.

This Land Was Made For You and Me – We Sang the *Whole* Song

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On January 18, 2009

In DC, Politics, Society

Just back from the We Are One concert on the Mall.  More about that soon, but I wanted to get this up.  There were many wonderful moments, but the one that would have made all of the effort worth it – on its own – was Pete Seeger leading the entire Mall’s worth of people in singing This Land is Your Land.  And not just the first verses, but the whole thing.  This is what it looked like:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-PCpRWqXv8[/youtube]

As sung today:

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I’ve roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking they tried to stop me
And on the sign it said “Private Property.”
But on the other side it didn’t say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.

10:15/Saturday Night

By

On January 17, 2009

In Music

The incredibly underrated Dan Reeder’s Shackles and Chains:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HDOrzDvNkU[/youtube]

The somewhat overrated (but still incredible) Eric Clapton’s Promises:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2421OgdJIA[/youtube]

Hawai’i Makes the DTV Switch

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On January 17, 2009

In Distribution, Law, Tech

It’s a bit surreal to see the DTV transition come to pass, as I’ve spent much of my legal career dealing with the various factors delaying it.  In any event, it looks like it’s coming.  For real this time:

At noon sharp Thursday in Hawaii, a message appeared on analog TV sets across the islands: “All full-power Hawaii TV stations are now digital.”

The state shut down old-fashioned broadcast signals, more than a month before the rest of the country is set to make the now-contentious switch.

It was, of course, a surprise to people who can’t actually comprehend what’s been flashing across their screens for months (if not years):

“The calls we’re getting now are from those people who are waking up and saying, `Oh my God, what do I do?'” said Lyle Ishida, the FCC’s Hawaii digital TV project manager, just before the switch.

I alternate between having some sympathy and outright mockery.  Maybe the eldery lady down the block simply tunes out whenever see hears the word “digital”.  Her?  I want to help.  But for all these twits who won’t understand why their screens have gone snowy because they couldn’t comprehend the announcements between Judge Judy episodes?  They deserve a break from television.

In any event, it’s here.  It’s coming.  A month from now.  For real this time.  The incoming administration may delay it a short bit (an ultimately pointless exercise, from a consumer’s point of view, I believe), but that television set in the spare bedroom will very soon need a new box to be useful.

(And if that’s the set your grandmother or dad watches?  Maybe you should ask them if you can help.)

Weekend Music: 99 Problems But a Bush Ain’t One

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On January 16, 2009

In Music

DJ Dangermouse blends Jay-Z and the Beatles:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnYN-sNVE9Q[/youtube]

And I know my rights so you gon’ need a warrant for that
“Aren’t you sharp as a tack, you some type of lawyer or something’?”
“Or somebody important or somethin’?”
Nah, I ain’t pass the bar but i know a little bit
Enough that you won’t illegally search my shit

Guru, with Angie Stone, lays down one of the best fuck-off tracks in the world:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YxZ2_j21NQ[/youtube]

I’ve never been a,
stranger to struggle gotta maintain my hustle
Used to let the anger bubble
These streets can bring mad danger and trouble
And I can do bad all by myself
Do me a favor – don’t be concerned about my wealth
If you’re one of my peeps, you’re gonna know that
But if I ain’t feelin you player, huh
My face is gonna show that
So keep your eyes off my pockets

And a classic:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXyzo3NfLTM[/youtube]

The Bailout: What Changed?

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On January 16, 2009

In Politics

TARP, by all accounts but Henry Paulson’s, has been a complete clusterfuck.  And yet we just had a Democratic Congress agree to shovel the other half of it out the door, with nary a question or bit of oversight.

What changed?  Nothing.  Same duplicitous bunch of people who ought not be trusted.

Update: Kos gives it a little more context.

Celebrating Freedom! Through Security!

By

On January 16, 2009

In DC, Society

Oy:

[The Inauguration] will be overseen by the U.S. Secret Service and will include 7,500 active-duty soldiers, 10,000 National Guard troops and 25,000 law-enforcement officers, security officials said.

I realize that security is a reasonable concern, but those numbers still give me pause.  Any time you get that many cops together, something’s bound to go off.  What?  That seems unfair?  DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier seems to take that view of the public:

Lanier said city officials realized they would need a different plan from previous inaugurals after the spontaneous response to Obama’s victory on Election Night.

Thousands took to the city’s streets, setting off sparklers and shouting from cars. Although “they were hugging police officers,” the size of the crowds signaled potential problems, she said.

That’s right – you just can’t let the people get together and celebrate without making sure that you’ve got riot shields, helmets, and truncheons on hand.

Celebrating Virginia Values: Massive Resistance

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On January 15, 2009

In Law, Society, Virginia

Vivian Paige sounds a sad note about the apparent lack of interest in marking the anniversary of the end of Virginia’s abominable strategy of state-sanctioned “massive resistance” to the end of segregation in public schools.  It’s worth reading.

(And compare this to J.R. Hoeft’s call for the end of the celebration of [Robert E.] Lee- [Stonewall] Jackson Day in Virginia, and the incredible backlash his proposal has gotten from his (otherwise erstwhile) allies amongst the Republican VA blogs.)

Did They Say It With a Straight Face?

By

On January 15, 2009

In Law

From the Washington Post:

A Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge yesterday that the Bush administration will meet its legal requirement to transfer e-mails to the National Archives after spending more than $10 million to locate 14 million e-mails reported missing four years ago from White House computer files.

[ . . . ]

Her remarks prompted Anne Weisman, the counsel for one of two plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), to say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Weisman said she hoped the administration’s efforts to recover the e-mails can be verified by an independent expert, noting that officials have repeatedly declined to detail the procedures they used. She also said questions persist about whether backup tapes still existed for all of the days for which e-mails were reported missing.

Meredith Fuchs, counsel for the other plaintiff, a historical group known as the National Security Archive, said the Justice Department’s statement was “striking” because the admission that 14 million e-mails had to be recovered showed “the level of mismanagement at the White House” of its historically significant records. She said, “For the past year and a half, they said, ‘Don’t worry, don’t worry, leave us alone.’ Now they say, at the last minute, they have solved it. I want to see the evidence.”

Well done.

Midweek Makeover: Those Were the Days Edition

By

On January 14, 2009

In Personal

Till Death Do Us Part:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3CeAFBgS-4[/youtube]

resulted in a phenomonal cover as All in the Family:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d8FTPv955I[/youtube]

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