Friday blogging

Friday again. Whew. I think.

My bracket took a beating last night. When Duke and Gonzaga both lost, there went half my final four. Feh.

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My texas friend has kidded me recently about Bush and Dobson, or more accurately, tried to kid with me about them. Neither strikes me as funny. I know he is being funny, but I don't laugh. Instead, I get kind of mad all over again at my conservative friends who voted for this guy.

Politics used to be more fun. Or at least, that is how I remember it. Nostalgia being what it is, here is what I remember. I remember that during the 90s, it was the right wing who used invective and hatred. I remember hearing on Christian radio that Hilary a) wasn't really a woman (they didn't mean sex change) b) was a marxist, and c) most likely a lesbian. Bill, of course, was running drugs out of Mena Arkansas and having people like Vince Foster killed.

All ridiculous, and for the most part, on the periphery. As successful as the right wing conspiracy was in getting the Whitewater and Monica nonsense pushed to the forefront, the American people were relatively unimpressed (remember that the Dems picked up seats in the 98 off year election).

2000. I was clearly for Gore (though tepidly) and anti-Bush (though tepidly). I remember being disappointed Election night, but not terribly. There was a part of me that recognized that this was inevitable--that the Republicans would eventually win back the White House. I remember watching the recount with interest--though not obsessively. I remember that what made me angriest was catching Pat Robertson's guest saying that the Devil (liberals) was trying to "steal" the election. Reminded me of the Neil Young line, "I don't feel like Satan, but I am to them," and it made me mad.

(I remember clearly, however, telling liberal friends that we were going to be ok. That the narrow nature of the election would force Bush to rule from the middle. Wrong. Of course, I was wrong. In retrospect, once Cheney was on board, the middle was toast, but I didn't know that then.)

Flash forward to now and we have a poisoned dialogue. Not our first, but it isn't good. Strikes me that the right wing never stopped badmouthing people like me. Even when they are in power, they demonize liberals. I think they have to. What has changed in the interim is that liberals are angrier and so have sometimes employed the same level of invective. Add to that the fact that thanks to Faux News and Karl Rove, the right wingers that used to be peripheralized (to some degree) are now the mainstream conservative voice.

I will never forgive Rove for this. Fatty Limbaugh and the idiots on Fox are performers. They have a schtick. Karl Rove has decided that winning elections is more important than any sense of American unity. He has decided, not that he can win with division, but that he prefers it. That is unforgivable.

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Speaking of nostalgia, I am always leery of it. I tell students to distrust it. It isn't always wrong, but it must always be challenged. Likewise when I see a cleaner or nicer political dialogue in the past.

But I digress. We have grown to love the Colbert Report almost as much as Jon Stewart. Brilliant. Even when he interviews a light-weight like Connie Chung or has right wing nut-jobs on. :)

Anyway, last night, he interviewed Miss Manners (I forget her real name), and I braced myself for someone who would play well in George Bush's church world--you know, the kind who are more offended at the f-word, but shrug at torture or poverty. Instead, she was wonderfully cynical. Colbert asked her when we became so rude, and she refused to bite. We have always been rude, she said, and she merely said that manners were a way to negotiate and live together in community. In other settings, social niceties are not that useful. After all, as she asked, if you can't ask questions forcefully in a press conference, what is the point?

I liked her, and fully expected not to.

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Friday music. I downloaded Josh Rouse's new album, Subtitulo from Emusic. Unlike so much of their other stuff, this one was available to subscribers in advance of the regular release. I liked that. The album is good. Rouse lives in Spain now, and the album reflects that.

I also downloaded Buddy Miller's recent album, Universal United House of Prayer. A really different sound for me--at least for now, but I had heard so much good about it, I decided to get it. Gospel sounds, mixed with great guitar riffs and harmonies--I am glad I did.

How about some free stuff? As usual, Aquarium Drunkard has some good stuff. I know Bucky will like this one--he has in his lost album series the Dylan/Cash sessions and they really do sound great. I want to like Johnny Cash more than I really do, and at times Dylan's singing can get on my nerves even though his writing is amazing. They both sound great here and I am really enjoying this album.

If you are interested, the Drunkard also has a lost album of the Black Crowes that I have yet to sample. I haven't been a huge fan, but will give this album a listen.

And last, staying on the Drunkard, he posted three songs from Track a Tiger that I am enjoying very much.

Have a good friday.