telescreen.org

The White House was against energy conservation before it was for it:

QUESTION: Does the President believe that, given the amount of energy Americans consume per capita, how much it exceeds any other citizen in any other country in the world, does the President believe we need to correct our lifestyles to address the energy problem?

FLEISCHER: That’s a big no. The President believes that it’s an American way of life.

(White House press briefing with Ari Fleischer, May 7, 2001)

Contrast with:

MCCLELLAN: [T]here are steps that — or initiatives that the President has outlined that are important steps that we can take to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy. This has been a high priority for the President from day one.

(White House press briefing with Scott McClellan, September 26, 2005)

Hopefully the Democrats will formulate an effective and coherent response to the Republican administration's incompetence and corruption.  And soon.

With Tom DeLay under felony indictment, Bill Frist under investigation for insider trading, Karl Rove under investigation for the Plame affair (though 'tis pity he won't be charged with high treason), the Jack Abramoff lobbyist scandal (one small facet of it, dealing with mob ties and murder, written about here), and the disgraced horse-judge Michael Brown lying to Congress about his incompetence, you'd start to think that maybe these guys don't have the best interests of the country at heart.

Also: check out this funny-if-it-weren't-so-frightening list of nicknames given by George W. Bush.  This man has unbelievable power, remember.

I think I'm going to go hide under the covers now.

The New Yorker Festival was this weekend, and as before, there were some amazing events.  On Friday, B. and I went to see A.M. Homes and Jeffrey Eugenides read.  I'd only read excerpts or short stories of theirs, and now I want to read more. 

Saturday morning, we went to a talk by Malcolm Gladwell (he of the hair) on precociousness and how it's overrated.  It was fascinating...he pointed out that childrens' early successes do not necessarily predict later success, and laid out a number of rationales why that might be so.

That afternoon, we hit a cell phone store (where I splurged!) before going to the 4pm panel discussion "Stage to Studio", about musicians who produce records.  Sasha Frere-Jones moderated the discussion between Ric Ocasek, Ani DiFranco, The RZA, and Steve Albini.  Good discussion (and I want to go do shots with the gloriously grumpy Albini), but I kind of wish that Ocasek had commented more, given that he was the most "corporate" and glossy producer of the four.

And then it was up to 57th Street for a celebration of the banjo.  With -- boggle -- Tony Ellis (who played with Bill Monroe), Pete Wernick (Hot Rize), Charles Wood (winner of the 2005 Rockygrass contest), Steve Martin (yes, that Steve Martin), and the banjo god himself, Earl Scruggs.  It was incredible.  I was surprised at how good a banjo player Martin was...and that he was the only player on the stage who played clawhammer style.  All of the musicians (there was also a mandolinist and two guitarists, and Tony Ellis also played fiddle) were very good.  Charles Wood especially stood out for me (though Pete Wernick certainly talked the most.)  The jaw-dropping highlight was the conclusion -- a runthrough of "Foggy Mountain Breakdown" at blazing tempo with all five banjos taking breaks and finishing in unison.

We had barely enough time to go outside and pinch ourselves before filing back into the Directors Guild of America theatre to see Gillian Welch.  I've been a fan of theirs for a little while, but had never gotten to see them live.  Wow.  (B. was getting tired and had to get up early the next morning, so she said that she'd go home to bed if I could give away the ticket.  The friend I called wouldn't be able to make it in time, so she decided to stick around.  Literally thirty seconds after the music began, she turned to me with huge eyes and whispered "I'm so glad I stayed!")  They played some songs (including my favorites "Elvis Presley Blues", "Revelator" and "Miss Ohio"), talked with the New Yorker's Alec Wilkinson (who wrote a very good profile of them last year), took some questions, then played some more.  I'd say that their voices, individually taken, would be a bit thin or uninteresting.  Together, though, they're magic -- their sound is lush and soulful, their voices and guitars mesh together very, very nicely, and some of their unison singing is so close that one literally cannot tell the voices apart.  The emotional connection between the two onstage is palpable, and Welch is a quite expressive singer.  And David Rawlings is one of the very best guitarists I'd ever seen.

It was like seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov and Michael Jordan on the same night.  And I'm glad I live in a city where I can go to these kinds of things.

(Incidentally, the reason I took so long to post these impressions is because I'm in a city where I can't.  Sunday morning, I left for Atlanta -- on the same plane as Biff Henderson! -- for a business trip.  It's good to see old friends and walk around my former haunts.)

Burgundy?  Bordeaux?

Wine reviewer writes haiku

(More fun than Parker.)

Happy 30th birthday to the best sitcom ever made.

Just an announcement:  my phone has died.  So if you want to call me, go ahead -- but it'll go straight to voicemail, which I'm checking a few times a day.  E-mail might be a better bet.

I'll have a new phone (hopefully with the same number) soon.  I just can't decide if I should get something akin to my current model, or go for the splurge.

Chico posted a lovely account of a summer evening and a desperate man, set in the park around the corner.

Well, I'm glad we've got that whole "War on Terror" thing licked.  Osama's cooling his heels in a Supermax in Colorado, Ayman al-Zawahiri is awaiting trial, and we've shut down all the al-Qaeda networks.

Right?

Well, to make this more understandable and reasonable, I'm sure that Gonzales is going after manufacturers and distributors of snuff films and child pornography, right?

Wrong again, says the WaPo:  "The new squad will divert eight agents, a supervisor and assorted support staff to gather evidence against 'manufacturers and purveyors' of pornography -- not the kind exploiting children, but the kind that depicts, and is marketed to, consenting adults."

I know that some may find porn repugnant and disgusting.  But you know what's even more disgusting?  Four years after he killed 2800 people, we haven't found bin Laden yet.  And what's repugnant is that we don't even seem to be trying very hard.

And as someone pointed out on MetaFilter: "isn't it ironic that that DoJ could soon be bringing charges against people who take pictures of acts which the Attorney General has stated were perfectly legal when carried out in Guantanamo Bay?"

The London Underground is safe from jacket-wearing, cell-phone-wielding, people-watching potential terrorists!

Didja know about Jeb Bush's imaginary friend?

Have you ever written off something that just wasn't going to happen -- decided to not even speculate about the possibility of it, because the odds were too low?

I never thought about seeing the dB's live.  Because they'd broken up four years before I ever listened to their music.  And because they were already mythical by that time...I got into them because I really liked the Connells, who were the best band from Raleigh, NC, my hometown.  And people kept saying that if I liked these guys, I really should check out the dB's.  I'd heard the name around -- among other things, they were name-checked by They Might Be Giants on Flood -- but it took me a while to discover their music. I heard a few songs here and there while I was in high school, but after I got to college I made ample use of my college radio station's library and taping facilities, and damn near wore out my homemade tapes of the first three dB's albums.

And then last night, I got to see them live.  A while back, I read about the shows on krimur's site and dove for the mouse to order tickets.  And the show was everything I'd hoped for.  They were amazingly good, despite monitor problems -- the dB's?  Gear problems?  who'da thunk? -- at one point, Chris Stamey asked for a break because Peter Holsapple couldn't hear himself, but they forged on.  Some of the harmonies were a bit out of tune as a result, but the show gave me a perma-grin that still hasn't gone away.  I mean, I never thought I'd ever hear "Amplifier" live.  Or "Big Brown Eyes."  "Ask For Jill."  "Lonely Is (As Lonely Does)."  And they all sounded great.

Here's a pretty good review of the show, complete with setlist. 

And as that review points out, Peter Holsapple and new bassist Jeff Beninato are New Orleans musicians, made homeless (temporarily, hopefully) by Hurricane Katrina.  Chris Stamey announced from the stage that they have set up the New Orleans Music Relief Fund, and if you donate at the previous link, you'll get an MP3 of the dB's covering "What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted."

Other fun stuff:  Walter "Mr. Bill" Williams' original video for "Amplifier", rejected by MTV, and animator Emily Hubley's (sister of Georgia from Yo La Tengo) video for "Big Brown Eyes."

Also:  Chico took some great pix.  (My favorite.)

ADDENDUM:  I have some pics up, too.

Hoping for an independent investigation, à la the 9/11 probe, into the governmental response to Katrina?

Me too.  Unfortunately, it'll never happen.

Yarrrr!

Sometimes I'm walking through a big empty space -- a field or something -- and feel like I want a beer.  What to do?

Why, set up the Inflatable Pub, of course.

But make sure you're careful with the darts, now.

(via A Whole Lotta Nothing.)

Did you know that Mr. Yuk has his own song?  And wristband?

Neither did I.  (But what I really want is a Mr. Yuk T-shirt.)

(via Czeltic Girl.)

Great Moments in Licensing History.

*head explodes*

Dontcha just hate it when victims of terrorism are shown in the media as stock pictures of their former happy smiling selves?  If it happens to you, do you really want your graduation/driver's license/fourth-grade picture as the one plastered across the press?

Of course not.  That's why pre-planning is essential, and the kindly folks at YouBlewMeUpYouBastard.com are here to help.

And I said "hey, Man-At-Arms...what's going on?"

Another meme, this time from The Bemusement Park.  I'll let Mark explain:

Here’s how you play: Go to Music Outfitters, search on the year you graduated high school, get the list of the top 100 songs, and highlight the ones that wouldn’t make you change the radio station instantly.

My results after the jump:

My friend Helcat has posted a fascinating photoset of Katrina's aftermath in New Orleans.

Those tickets I was selling yesterday are now up on Craigslist.

UPDATE:  Sold.

Ah, Dawn Eden.  Why do I visit her blog twice a week or so?  Is it because I don't get enough hate speech from [certain prominent Republicans/Fox News/Ann Coulter/Freepers/et cetera] in my daily life?  Is it because she'll find new folks to belittle and insult?  Is it because I just can't wait to see how outrageous 'n' wacky she'll be this time?  Is it because she's an easier target than Bill Frist or even Rick Santorum?  Is it because I'm not yet convinced that she's not actually a brilliant parody of the "Christian" right and that no one else gets the joke?

Or is it because I find jokes about hurricanes wiping out towns to be funny?  Especially right now?

(Nope, I don't think it's that last one.)

Bathroom Break, originally uploaded by Vidiot.

President Bush asks if he can go potty. (Reuters photo; full-size is here.)

For Sale, originally uploaded by Vidiot.

I'm putting these tickets up for sale here 24 hours before I put 'em on Craigslist.

The deal: Two tickets to "From Stage To Studio: When Performers Produce", a panel discussion that's part of the New Yorker Festival. (This event is sold out, by the way.)

Where/when: Times Square Studios, 1500 Broadway, Saturday 9/24, 4pm

Description of the event, from the Festival website:

Sasha Frere-Jones, moderator. With Steve Albini, Ani DiFranco, Ric Ocasek, and the RZA.

Sasha Frere-Jones is the pop-music critic for The New Yorker. From 1991 to 2003, he was a member of the band Ui, whose albums include “Answers,” “Lifelike,” and “Sidelong.” In 1998, he released “Standing Upright on a Curve,” a solo guitar album. He is currently finishing an album of loud rock songs.

Steve Albini is a guitarist, recording engineer, and occasional music writer. Formerly a member of the bands Big Black and Rapeman, he currently plays with the group Shellac. He has overseen the making of the albums “In Utero,” by Nirvana, and “Surfer Rosa,” by the Pixies, among many others.

Ani DiFranco is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She produced her first sixteen solo albums and co-produced her seventeenth, “Knuckle Down,” which was released this year. She has also produced recordings by the artists Dan Bern, Janis Ian, and the group Bitch and Animal, and co-produced Drums & Tuba and Hammell on Trial for her Righteous Babe Records label.

Ric Ocasek was the front man for the rock band the Cars, which sold more than twenty-five million albums in the nineteen-seventies and eighties. He has produced recordings by Bad Brains, Guided by Voices, Hole, Weezer, and No Doubt, and served as vice-president of artists and repertoire at Elektra. His solo albums include “Troublizing” and “Nexterday.”

The RZA, whose real name is Robert Diggs, is a founding member of the hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced all their albums and also the solo efforts of Method Man and the late ODB. As a film composer, his credits include “Kill Bill: Vol. 1,” which was nominated for a BAFTA, and “Kill Bill: Vol. 2.” He is the author of “The Wu-Tang Manual,” published this year, and will star in “Derailed,” with Clive Owen.

Want the tickets? I'm selling them for $30 each, or best offer -- face value is $25, and I paid $5.75 each for outrageous TicketMaster fees, so this is actually a bit less than I paid. Drop me an e-mail if you're interested.

UPDATE:  Sold.

President Bush, answering taking questions yesterday morning:

Q Did they misinform you when you said that no one anticipated the breach of the levees?

THE PRESIDENT: No, what I was referring to is this. When that storm came by, a lot of people said we dodged a bullet. When that storm came through at first, people said, whew. There was a sense of relaxation, and that's what I was referring to. And I, myself, thought we had dodged a bullet. You know why? Because I was listening to people, probably over the airways, say, the bullet has been dodged. And that was what I was referring to.

Of course, there were plans in case the levee had been breached. There was a sense of relaxation in the moment, a critical moment. And thank you for giving me a chance to clarify that.

Well, I'm certainly glad he was relaxed.  (Because he's been working hard, thanking people!)  But it doesn't quite add up.  The levees were breached on Monday morning (or afternoon, depending on who you read; the Wall Street Journal ran an excellent article yesterday dissecting the coverage.)  In this post below, I point out that on Sunday, Bush was briefed on Hurricane Katrina by Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.  I would be very surprised if such a briefing did not at least include the possibility of a catastrophic levee breach.  And water was flowing over the levees late Sunday night, according to this timeline from ThinkProgress.  (According to Knight-Ridder, the levees failed at 3am Monday.)

So Bush was enjoying "a sense of relaxation(" in a decidedly "critical moment"...after the levees had been overtopped and breached.  Because he was on vacation, you see.  And to this President, nothing seems quite so sacrosanct as months and months of vacation.  Nothing must intrude, whether it be President's Daily Briefings warning of bin Laden attacks, or the news that one of America's key cities was being inundated.

And who, exactly, was telling Bush that they'd "dodged a bullet"?  Was it Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff?  After all, he said (on the September 4 edition of Meet The Press):

I remember on Tuesday morning picking up newspapers and I saw headlines, "New Orleans Dodged The Bullet," because if you recall the storm moved to the east and then continued on and appeared to pass with considerable damage but nothing worse.  It was on Tuesday that the levee--may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday--that the levee started to break.  And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city.  I think that second catastrophe really caught everybody by surprise. 

So, no, the storm wasn't a direct hit on New Orleans.  But it didn't have to be a direct hit, as we have seen, to have caused catastrophic damage and widespread devastation.  (By the way, I would be remiss if I didn't note that Chertoff seemed to be 24 hours behind the National Guard in not knowing that the levees had broken.)

Which brings us back to exactly what was happening on Prairie Chapel Ranch on Tuesday morning.  According to both Secretary Chertoff and President Bush, the press was reporting that New Orleans had "dodged the bullet."

Really?

I see no "New Orleans Dodges Bullet" headline above.  (Graphic from AmericaBlog, by way of Chuck @ Looka.)  But reading comprehension is probably a bit much to expect from the Commander-in-Chief, right?  Because he's proud of not reading newspapers anyway.

And it took at least another 24 hours for Bush to cut his vacation short.  After all, he just loves to clear brush from his ranch.  I'm sure he assumed that cleaning up the Gulf States would be similar.