Yo La Simpsons

I've watched The Simpsons a lot, and I've seen Yo La Tengo live about 10 times. But I've never seen these two worlds collide the way that they do in this awesome clip.

A statement from the Electronic Fronteer Foundation (EFF)

This is in response to today's decision by Congress to allow immunity to the telecommunications companies in the revision of the FISA bill.

Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Senate this afternoon passed the FISA Amendments Act, broadly expanding the president's warrantless surveillance authority and unconstitutionally granting retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies that participated in the president's illegal domestic wiretapping program. The House of Representatives passed the same bill last month, and President Bush is expected to sign the legislation into law shortly.

"It is an immeasurable tragedy that just after its return from the Fourth of July holiday, the Senate has chosen to pass a bill that betrays the spirit of 1776 by radically expanding the president's spying powers and granting immunity to the companies that colluded in his illegal surveillance program," said Senior Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). "This so-called compromise bill represents a shameful capitulation to the overreaching demands of an imperial president. As Senator Leahy put it in yesterday's debate, the retroactive immunity provision of the bill upends the scales of justice and makes Congress and the courts handmaidens to the White House's cover-up of its illegal surveillance program."

The FISA Amendments Act won passage after several amendments intended to remove or modify the bill's immunity provision failed to pass. One amendment, offered by Senator Christopher Dodd, would have stripped immunity from the bill altogether. Another, introduced by Senator Jeff Bingaman, would have stayed the pending cases against the telecoms and delayed the implementation of the immunity provision until the Inspectors General of the Department of Justice and other U.S. government intelligence agencies finished their investigation into the spying program, thereby preventing Congress from granting immunity in the dark.

"We thank those senators who courageously opposed telecom immunity and vow to them, and to the American people, that the fight for accountability over the president's illegal surveillance is not over," said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl. "Even though Congress has failed to protect the privacy of Americans and uphold the rule of law, we will not abandon our defense of liberty. We will fight this unconstitutional grant of immunity in the courtroom and in the Congress, requesting repeal of the immunity in the next session, while seeking justice from the Judiciary. Nor can the lawless officials who approved this massive violation of Americans' rights rest easy, for we will file a new suit against the government and challenge warrantless wiretapping, past, present and future."

EFF is representing the plaintiffs in Hepting v. AT&T, a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of millions of AT&T customers whose private domestic communications and communications records were illegally handed over to the National Security Agency (NSA). EFF has been appointed co-coordinating counsel for all 47 of the outstanding lawsuits concerning the government's warrantless surveillance program.

And here is a similar statement by the ACLU

Today, in a blatant assault upon civil liberties and the right to privacy, the Senate passed an unconstitutional domestic spying bill that violates the Fourth Amendment and eliminates any meaningful role for judicial oversight of government surveillance. The FISA Amendments Act of 2008 was approved by a vote of 69 to 28 and is expected to be signed into law by President Bush shortly. This bill essentially legalizes the president’s unlawful warrantless wiretapping program revealed in December 2005 by the New York Times.

“Once again, Congress blinked and succumbed to the president’s fear-mongering. With today’s vote, the government has been given a green light to expand its power to spy on Americans and run roughshod over the Constitution,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union. “This legislation will give the government unfettered and unchecked access to innocent Americans’ international communications without a warrant. This is not only unconstitutional, but absolutely un-American.”

The FISA Amendments Act nearly eviscerates oversight of government surveillance by allowing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to review only general procedures for spying rather than individual warrants. The FISC will not be told any specifics about who will actually be wiretapped, thereby undercutting any meaningful role for the court and violating the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

The bill further trivializes court review by authorizing the government to continue a surveillance program even after the government’s general spying procedures are found insufficient or unconstitutional by the FISC. The government has the authority to wiretap through the entire appeals process, and then keep and use whatever information was gathered in the meantime. A provision touted as a major “concession” by proponents of the bill calls for investigations by the inspectors general of four agencies overseeing spying activities. But members of Congress who do not sit on the Judiciary or Intelligence committees will not be guaranteed access to the agencies’ reports.

The bill essentially grants absolute retroactive immunity to telecommunication companies that facilitated the president’s warrantless wiretapping program over the last seven years by ensuring the dismissal of court cases pending against those companies. The test for the companies’ right to immunity is not whether the government certifications they acted on were actually legal – only whether they were issued. Because it is public knowledge that certifications were issued, all of the pending cases will be summarily dismissed. This means Americans may never learn the truth about what the companies and the government did with our private communications.

“With one vote, Congress has strengthened the executive branch, weakened the judiciary and rendered itself irrelevant,” said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “This bill – soon to be law – is a constitutional nightmare. Americans should know that if this legislation is enacted and upheld, what they say on international phone calls or emails is no longer private. The government can listen in without having a specific reason to do so. Our rights as Americans have been curtailed and our privacy can no longer be assumed.”

In advance of the president’s signature, the ACLU announced its plan to challenge the new law in court.

“This fight is not over. We intend to challenge this bill as soon as President Bush signs it into law,” said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. “The bill allows the warrantless and dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international telephone and email communications. It plainly violates the Fourth Amendment.”

I strongly support both of these organizations in their fight to uphold the Bill of Rights and our system of checks and balances.

God save the queen (with the safety pin through her nose)

(This was written when Queen Elizabeth II was celebrating 50 years on the throne, back in 2002).

This image, couresty of graphic artist Jamie Reid remains deeply iconic.



Now, no disrespect to the head of what remains of the British empire, but being an Yank (and one of Irish descent at that, not to mention a left winger), I must admit that it's hard for me to be too reverential toward royal traditions. I tend to see these Buckingham Palace dwellers as little more than a curious carryover from a bygone era, and probably not really worth the care and feeing costs involved. But, as an American, I also recognize that it's ultimately none of my business whether or not the British want to keep their Royals.


However, as an amateur, but passionate, pop historian and punk fan, the thought of the Queen celebrating an anniversary will always call to mind something else for me. The great punk year 1977 was 25 years ago. It was in this year that Johnny Rotten/Lydon got his face slashed by some nationalistic street thugs in retaliation for the symbolic slashing by him of the Queen. She was for him, and for many, an empty meaningless signifier, and so he, with his sense of ironic black humor, called her a "moron" and a "potential H-Bomb." With this, the punk poster/t-shirt of Elizabeth with a safety pin through her nose became one of punk's (and thus rock's) great signifiers - a thing of beauty (in the postmodern sense of beauty). It was a gesture, an act of toppling an apple cart or the throwing of a tomato at some revered object. The punks like Johnny Rotten instinctively knew that which I always tell my students in my sociology classes, namely to recognize what the norms are,
one might go about breaching them. And breach the norms the punks certainly did.


As I reminisce about this time, it occurs to me that, like myself, Johnny Lydon, Steve Jones, Ari Up, Jimmy Pursey, Joe Strummer, Rat Scabies, Mark P, Siouxsie Sioux, and whoever's left of the Bromley Contingent are all getting older, if not mellower. Hopefully, they have some contentment in their lives today, given the likelihood of their memories of an exciting and meaningful time in their youth. Hopefully, for them, as for me, the "official" celebrations of the Queen calls to mind the great punk safety-pin signifier and that this gives them some satisfaction and puts a little smile on their faces. Hopefully, they can hear the words, sung in that expressive Johnny Rotten voice:

...GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
SHE AIN'T NO HUMAN BEING
THERE IS NO FUTURE
AND ENGLAND'S DREAMING....

some thoughts on Elvis, Beatles, and Michael Jackson

(I originally wrote this about five years ago; it is revised from its original form)



Recent discussions of Michael Jackson have gotten me thinking about a comparison of Jacko with another musical icon - Elvis; i.e., two pampered, socially isolated megalomaniacs whose musical quality went steadly downhill as each approached middle age; Elvis turned into a karate kicking, jumpsuit wearing self-parody; Jacko has been a self-parody for some time now.

I was recently watching and greatly enjoying a tape I had made of the ABC special on the Beatles, right about the time that the compilation with the song "Free as a Bird" was released; how poignant it was to see George, along with Paul and Ringo sitting around together and discussing old times.


Well, one discussion was about the time the fabs met Elvis; it sounded, from the way that they told the story, that they were pretty high, when they met The King (their onetime hero).


What was interesting, though, was how they were eventually made aware of the fact that, while Elvis may have been a rather gracious host during their afternoon in his house, he held a rather low opinion of them, in the final analysis (perhaps he was jealous, or perhaps they were a symbol of how out of touch Elvis was slowly becomming, 1968 comeback special to the contrary). Yet how gracious and even empathetic Paul and the other Beatles seemed to remain in discussing Elvis, even though it was clear how disappointed they seemed. Of course, though, to their credit, they choose to take the high road, and come out looking better.




Here's one account of what Elvis said to President Richard Nixon, during a meeting they had in the White house, wherein Elvis did a bit of trash talking about the Beatles; Nixon, of course, wanted John Lennon deported. (Please note, though, that while this incident may be interpreted in terms of politics, I am not about to discuss this politics here. As everyone probably knows, though, irony abounds in Nixon making Elvis an honorary "youth advisor" to help in the fight against drug use.)


from "Nixon the Narc"

The Prez and The King


Years later, as President, Nixon had a unique opportunity to meet another world-famous musician, Elvis Presley. In 1970, Elvis wrote Nixon a long, poorly handwritten letter requesting a visit with the President and suggesting that he be made a "Federal Agent-at-Large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Elvis claimed to have made extensive study of "drug abuse and Communist brainwashing
techniques," and wanted to help save his country from hippies and communism.


Elvis was eventually received at the White House by Nixon, where the two spent some time in the Oval Office together. Although no transcript of their conversation exists, a summary of their talk written by Nixon's staff indicates that Elvis showed the President his collection of law-enforcement paraphernalia, and then derided the
Beatles, saying they had been a "real force for anti-American spirit."


Nixon clearly agreed with the King's assessment of the Fab Four, as John Lennon was already on Nixon's infamous "enemies list," with a thick FBI file investigating his anti-war activities. Nixon was personally behind efforts to deport Lennon in 1972.


Yet despite Elvis' claim to dislike the Beatles, five years earlier he had hosted them in his Hollywood home. For one enchanted evening, on the night of August 27, 1965, the lads from Liverpool and the King hung out, jammed and swapped stories about life on tour. "We all drank scotch and coke or bourbon and Seven Up," explained Lennon in a memoir of the event. "Elvis only had Seven Up. He didn't touch any of the cigarettes that were offered around, either."


While offering to serve as Nixon's anti-drug spokesman, Elvis was already a heavy user of prescription drugs. Within two years Elvis was admitted to hospital for hepatitis, pneumonia and overuse of prescription drugs. Five years later Elvis was dead at the age of 42, due to heart failure brought on by prescription drugs and poor attention to his personal health.

So basically, this little anecdote suggests that Elvis and Nixon - in spite of seeming to be worlds apart - were perfectly willing to exploit one another, at the expense of others (as well as of their own reputations), and to try to capitalize, socially, culturally, and politically, on their association with one another.

Meanwhile, here is a rather amusing clip, from around the same era, that shows just how willing John Lennon was to stand up for the people and the things that he believed in - a kind of skiffle/jugband version of a song by Lennon's friend (and hippy radical) David Peel. It is a performance that gleefully thumbs its nose at the Nixonian-era establishment, and is certainly one for the time capsule.

...Bronx keeps creating it!

Is hip-hop dead? Maybe not, but it's not sounding much like this any more. There may have been some progress from the classic "old school" era, but lots and lots of regress, as well. As Nas explains, in the song "Hip Hop is Dead,"

Everybody sound the same, commercialize the game
Reminiscin' when it wasn't all business
If it got where it started
So we all gather here for the dearly departed
Hip hopper since a toddler
One homeboy became a man then a mobster
If the guys let me get my last swig of Vodka
R.I.P., we'll donate your lungs to a rasta
Went from turntables to mp3s
From "Beat Street" to commercials on Mickey D's
From gold cables to Jacobs
From plain facials to Botox and face lifts

Scotland vs. New Zealand – a Matchup of Two Leading Indie Rock Meccas

If I can allow myself an admittedly simplistic analogy, it seems to me, based on my limited experiential knowledge, that the countries of Scotland and New Zealand – known for so much, are like the college towns of countries – urbane, sophisticated, environmentally conscious, principled, idealistic (in a good way), and filled with youthful energies and tolerances for difference. Perhaps I am overidealizing both places, but it just seems to me that they have a lot of very positive things going on.

And that is certainly true in terms of their musical output or noted music scenes, particularly their indie rock scenes. When I think of Scotland, I can’t help but think of some really great bands, from Orange Juice and the Skids, through the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Proclaimers, to the Pastels, Teenage Fanclub and Belle and Sebastian. The amount of musical talent from Scotland is truly staggering.

And of course, when I think of New Zealand, along with having vivid cinematic images of the rugged terrains shown in Peter Jackson’s Ring trilogy, I can’t help but think of the extraordinary Christchurch label, Flying Nun, and its long history of wonderfully quirky and massively seminal bands, starting with bands like the Clean, the Chills, the Straightjacket Fits, and the Tall Dwarves. The very wit-filled names of these (and other such NZ) bands, not to mention the use of a 60s pop reference to an example of a kind of kitschy pop Christianity (in a city given a "godly" name by a group of (most likely very serious, sober 19th century) clerics, in a time much different than our own), expresses for me a kind of humorous sensibility that strikes me as perhaps uniquely New Zealandish. The wit of New Zealanders - delivered with a poker faced charm by its musicians (or especially by the fictional band on the HBO carried show, Flight of the Conchords) - is a thing of great beauty.

So, as a purely academic exercise, one with no real practical concerns, I would propose that these two countries be held to a kind of matchup as two centers of indie rock greatness – a sort of U-Cal Berkeley vs. University of Wisconsin-Madison (the latter of which was once my place of residence for a few years).

Here, then, is who I would pick as the heavy hitters for each respective country – call it an indie rock top 10.

Over in the tartan corner, we have (in no particular order): The Jesus and Mary Chain, Teenage Fanclub, Pastels, Cocteau Twins, Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Orange Juice, The Vaselines, the Wake, and APB. All are really terrific bands, whose music holds up remarkably well to this day. In particular, The Pastels, Teenage Fanclub, and most especially, Belle and Sebastian are, for me, examples of genius bands, among the very best in rock music history. I listen to their music on a very regular basis and it never gets old for me.



And, over there, in the kiwi corner, we have another top 10 (actually top 11) to consider (though again, in no particular order); a number of these groups are connected, in one way or another, to one or to both of the Kilgour brothers - New Zealand indie rockers come across as communally spirited and generally willing to play in one anothers' bands: The Clean, The Chills, Tall Dwarves/Chris Knox, the Bats, Split Enz, Verlaines, Bailter Space, The 3Ds, The Sneaky Feelings, The Able Tasmans, Jean-Paul Sartre Experience. These too are some truly amazing bands, some focused on noisy experimentalism, others on melody and subtle arrangements, and a few on all of these altogether.



But, having spent lots of times listening to both the Scots and the New Zealanders, I would have to say – if push comes to shove – that the world’s indie rock capitol is, for me, by a relatively close margin, none other than .... New Zealand. Not only are there so many amazing bands from there, but the DIY spirit of punk seems to inform so much of what New Zealand is all about. And this spirit, too, appears to inform the possibility of these bands having full lives, both as musicians and as human beings - getting together to record, to play shows, and then to go live their lives, and then to get back together to record a bit more, and to play some more shows, with all of these things being woven together as an apparently seamless whole. Again, perhaps I am overidealizing these bands, but that is how I see it, just as I see their personalities and their passions coming across very clearly in the sublime music that they manage to produce.

So, therefore, I conclude - having expressed a true love for Scotland's bands, though I could also easily talk about great independent music from various other countries, including my own - that, nevertheless, New Zealand wins my trophy for best indie rock country. In fact, in realizing this, I kind of want to fly there right now, climb a few lush green hills, listen to a some church bells chiming, eat some local seafood with some regional side dishes, drink a few local drinks, and hear some bands!

Arguably Better than U2

I really like U2 and have seen them live a few times, but on the other hand, the band Stump is the band that make me proud of my Irish family roots. I just came upon this video for the song Charlton Heston, and, well, it's bloody genius.



This band, and its Captain Beefheart-esque music, were part of the musical soundtrack to my life, back in the mid to late 1980s, when I was grappling with Chi-Squares and qualitative data sets as a master's degree student at University of Wisconsin, and listening enthusiastically to Stump's A Fierce Pancake.


Their music was, and is, delightfully quirky, catchy, and full of wit and energy. You can clearly hear the Irishness in the vocal inflections of lead singer Mick Lynch. The song/video is great, too, in how it comedically and absurdly deconstructs spectacle, such as movies like the Ten Commandments - and religious spectacle even, i.e., as a kind of cross between Samuel Beckett and the Three Stooges. Sadly, they chose to break up soon thereafter rather than slog it out in the music world. Happily, though, their music lives on, via ITunes and in the memories of fans of the quirky and original.

Percussion

Last summer, I got invited to a "solstice party" in a neighbor's yard - a really fun time and a chance to meet some interesting folks. As the evening went on, some there had guitars and led those there in singing. Some of us played percussion instruments (I was given a maraca to shake), and it was s joyous experience to be making music together, to be part of a song circle, and to experience the warmth of creativity and communality with my fellow human beings.

Here, though, is another example of creative percussioning. This video is pretty amazing.

The Chills - Heavenly Pop Hit

I love this!

Rightwingers Again Supress Free Speech, This Time in Troy, NY

The NYCLU is currently filing a laswuit against the city of Troy, NY, an upstate city and home to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Russell Sage College, because the city's public works commissioner, Robert Mirch, also the majority leader of the Rensselaer County Legislature, did what empowered right wing thugs everywhere tend to do, that is, to abuse their power. And in this case, Mirch abused his power to suppress an idea that he did not like, that is, the idea of critiquing the Iraq war. And that this idea was being led by an Iraqi-born artist, Wafaa Bilal, is particularly egregious. Incidentally, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's College Republicans played a strong hand in this shutdown.

Mirch, essentially, shut down the exhibit using the most bogus rationale, claiming as a city official, in effect, that the exhibit was being organized in a building that violated safety code violations; the building had previously been approved for such use, without incident, prior to this particular exhibit.

This abuse of Mirch's power - an assault on free speech and antiwar activities by an established government - should be vigorously opposed. I urge all who read this to protest this action.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has more details.

The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a claim Thursday against the City of Troy concerning the city’s decision to close an arts and media center on purported code violations in March after a controversial art exhibit opened there.

The notice of claim was filed on behalf of The Sanctuary for Independent Media, whose gallery was ordered closed March 11, a day after the opening of Iraqi-American artist Wafaa Bilal’s art installation, “Virtual Jihadi.” The exhibit was intended to provoke thought about the roots of violence, but it angered some people who objected to its content.

Among those offended by the artwork was Robert Mirch, public works commissioner and majority leader of the Rensselaer County Legislature. Mirch, who oversees code enforcement, publicly denounced the exhibit and led a protest against it outside the Sanctuary. The NYCLU contends that Mirch used his official powers to have the building closed, which violated the Sanctuary’s First Amendment rights to free speech and expression.

“City officials cannot selectively enforce building codes to shut down an art exhibition they find distasteful,” said Melanie Trimble, director of the NYCLU’s Capital Region chapter. “It is troubling that Mr. Mirch would wield his authority to suppress the free speech rights of people he disagrees with.”

Before the controversial exhibit opened, the city had given no indication that it objected to the Sanctuary’s schedule for restoring the 106-year-old building. The Sanctuary had worked closely with the Bureau of Code Enforcement throughout the renovation process. Code enforcement officials inspected the building on April 23 and found no violations.

Here is a statement by Steve Peirce, a spokeman for the The Sanctuary for Independent Media, addressing this incident.

Since 2005, The Sanctuary for Independent Media has struggled to be a good citizen and a good neighbor. We've invested immense creative energy and toil and spent many thousands of hard-earned dollars to refurbish a historic former church in a neglected neighborhood of north Troy, striving to enrich the community through telecommunications production, media arts and education. Our efforts have proved beneficial in that we've succeeded in bringing internationally acclaimed filmmakers, graphic artists, musicians, authors, and other important cultural figures to a deprived area and fostered constructive public dialogue that informs and enlivens our democratic society.
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On March 11, 2008, however, just as the Sanctuary was launching a month-long scheduled program of artistic exhibits, performances and discussions, the City of Troy abruptly closed the facility on codes violation charges -- because somebody didn't like one of our planned art exhibits. This is wrong. We must not allow our public officials to continue to act in such a manner.
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The Capital Region New York Civil Liberties Union and attorney Peter Henner are among those who have stepped forward to assist the Sanctuary in protecting our constitutional rights and the rights of our artists and patrons.
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We do not dispute the need to respect city laws and ordinances. Prior to this incident, the city knew we were operating in good faith to comply with the building codes and we had made and were continuing to make ample improvements to this 108-year-old structure. There wasn't any conflict. Our relations with the city's professional employees had been very positive and everyone recognized we were acting in a responsible manner. We were never warned we might be shut down. In fact, on March 10, the city's own building and fire inspectors gave us the green light to proceed with holding a major public event that night.
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But then the city's public works commissioner, Bob Mirch, who oversees Troy code enforcement and holds a variety of other local political posts, railed on rightwing talk radio and he also physically led a vocal demonstration outside our facility to protest our showing of an exhibit he did not like. The next day, his department shut down the Sanctuary.
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These events have been extremely upsetting and damaging. First, the whole incident has been fueled by wildly irresponsible misrepresentations of Wafaa Bilal and his work, using racial and jingoistic stereotypes that breed fear and misunderstanding. Second, Mr. Mirch has been allowed to abuse his official position to enforce his own political views - to use alleged code violations as a pretext to stifle political dissent. This kind of intimidation is wrong. His behavior has violated the civil rights of Mr. Bilal to express himself through his art, it has violated the civil rights of the Sanctuary to present art, and it has abrogated the civil rights of the public who wanted to view art by denying them that opportunity to make up their own minds. We urge the City of Troy to put an end to this kind of discriminatory action. We want to resume working in good faith with government officials to make sure that the law is upheld and people's rights are respected. This is the United States of America.

Here is a YouTube clip about this controversy.

Here is a link to a GamePolitics.Com article with more details about the artist in question.

Here is a link to a detailed timeline of this incident.