Pick hit of the week:
Syl Johnson's "Complete Mythology", a magnificent collector's package consisting of six lps and four CDs (with a detailed booklet), each group of which explores the man's astounding early work –before he got to Hi and recorded the original version of "Take Me to the River."
I'd always thought Johnson was merely a talented journeyman, and the Hi recordings (with the great Willie Mitchell, who I saluted in my Solomon Burke review last week) the highlight of his career, but this box is a revelation in its portrait of a brilliant and mostly unsung soul man who hopefully will finally get the attention he's been denied and so richly deserves.
Did I mention the beautiful and witty packaging? A record collector's de-lite (at around $75 dollars, also something of a bargain).
Attached below, a video of a live version of Johnson's (arguably) most famous non-Hi number.
Rock, this one's for you. "Is It Because I'm Black?" LIVE – Syl Johnson (Crofoot Ballroom) www.youtube.com
When it comes to mikvahs, the recession is a wash (thought that joke would make a splash) http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/recession_not_sinking_mikveh_movement www.thejewishweek.com
Can you imagine what Republicans would say if a member of the Democratic leadership went behind a President's back and encouraged world leaders not to cooperate with him? Cantor Spox Clarifies 'Check' Comments GOPer Made To Netanyahu tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com
Orszag makes a very compelling case that the Bowles-Simpson proposal for Social Security is a good starting point for discussion, though it would be nice if he were a bit more vehement about his caveats about what they got wrong.Safer Social Security www.nytimes.com
Sullivan asks whether the Tea PArty is anti-debt for real, or just anti-Obama? Bowles-Simpson And The Tea Party Bluff – The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com
Chait makes the smart case for compromise on the deficit and full scale war over continuing the tax cuts. And he tears the Washington conventional wisdom into the shreds it deserves to be sliced into. Fight Or Bargain? Tax Cuts Vs. The Deficit | The New Republic www.tnr.com
There are days when I think that if all Republicans were like Frum, I might consider joining his party, but the sad truth is he is practically the last sane Republican left standing, and it is about time he just smelled the coffee and became a centrist Democrat.
We could use the help. Post-Tea-Party Nation www.nytimes.com
The Daily News opines thus on the Zadroga bill:
"This is one piece of legislation that must be beyond Washington's paralytic, all-or-nothing warfare….
…Will the GOP dispatch the bill with procedural maneuvers, insisting that it must pass not by a majority, but by 60 votes? That would be treachery. As Norm Ornstein, a scholar at the conservative-leaning American Enterprise Institute, wrote recently in the Daily News, the …bill appears to have support among more than half the Senate. That's the bar it must be held to.
Time is of the essence. The session could last a mere two weeks. Passed by the House last month, the measure must come to the floor quickly. Senate panels have heard reams of testimony on these very issues over the past six years. The information is all in the record…The time for talking is over. The time for collective action is now…for all Democrats and Republicans alike. This is a cause far greater than party or momentary advantage. This is American decency. Make it happen together."
Well I'm for the bill too, but I must ask, why this argument applies only to this bill, and not to “don't ask, don't tell” and the dozens of other worthy bills the Senate Republicans have been blocking for two years? Certainly, in the case of “don't ask, don't tell,” all the calls this editorial made (most of which I omitted) about those who've sacrificed for their country apply with just as much force and moral clarity. Local politicians must rally round to push Zadroga WTC health bill through the Senate www.nydailynews.com
Because what little is left of his good reputation isn't worth saving anyway. Ex-Rangel Opponents See Calculation In Rangel Walk-Out | The New York Observer www.observer.com
To me, the really distressing thing here is not the charge, but the admission.
Just hypothetically, let's take Lopez at his word: He did not try to use the power of government to get the Diocese of Brooklyn to close churches; he used the power of government to try to get the Diocese of Brooklyn to keep open churches they wanted to close.
While this may not be quite as great an evil as the allegation in this article, is it not just as great a violation of the Free Exercise clause for a politician to use the power of government to interfere with the internal decisions of a religious denomination?
Just to be fair, let me also quesion what the dissident priests were doing "allowing" supporters of a Diana Reyna to campaign outside their churches. Either those sidewalks are open to everyone to do the same tthing without permission, or, in the atenraitve, those churches have a problems with the IRS. Priests charge that Brooklyn Dem boss Vito Lopez influenced closing or merger of churches www.nydailynews.com
One line says it all; Marty Connor, once known to his friends as "Senator Grumpy" is portrayed as sounding "more dour than normal." That speaks volumes. State of the Senate: Still chaos | Capital New York www.capitalnewyork.com