Monday, October 30, 2017

Cool, New Video "People Living" By Bonnie "Prince" Billy Feat. Charlottesville Footage

Bonnie "Prince" Billy has a new album Wolf of the Cosmos, out November 17, 2017 (Palace/Drag City). This is the first song we're hearing from it. The video features footage from Charlottesville.





"How could it be? ... People on the outside.... 
People on the wrong side.... How could it be?..."

Read the 31-Page Indictment Against Trump's One-Time Campaign Manager Here...


Now MAGA means: Manafort And Gates Arrested.... Well, that's ONE way to make America great again... 

The 31-Page Indictment Is Here...
https://www.justice.gov/file/1007271/download

The Papadopoulos guilty plea document is here...
https://www.justice.gov/file/1007346/download



Sunday, October 29, 2017

"Milano" and "Lotta Sea Lice": Two Cool, New Collaborations That Give Hope To Guitar Fans (feat Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Parquet Courts, Karen O, Daniele Luppi)



I'm a guitar fan. I've tried to play guitar, and many of my favorite songs and artists feature prominent guitar, whether it be Robert Johnson, Hubert Sumlin, Michael Bloomfield, or Jack White. These days, when I look at a Billboard chart, music award nominees, rankings of popular YouTube videos or a Spotify playlist, I often am sad to see nothing resembling guitar-based rock n roll (much less guitar-based blues or folk) to be found.

These two cool, new offerings are rays of sunlight breaking through the clutter. Interesting that they are both collaborations.

Lotta Sea Lice was born from a fantasy Kurt Vile had of Courtney Barnett singing with him. Both Kurt and Courtney (ouch!) are singer/songwriters who play guitar. This album totally works and is awesome. Check it out.


Milano is said to be Daniele Luppi's salute to both the 1980's and Milan, Italy. I only knew of him from his previous album Rome, a collaboration with Danger Mouse which featured guest vocalists such as Norah Jones. A highlight was Jack White doing "Two Against One", a song Jack has since added to his live repertoire.


Rome was reportedly Luppi's tribute to classic Italian movie music (much of it from "spaghetti Westerns" full of Spanish, Mexican, Western, cowboy, desert musical motifs).

I'm still trying to figure out what Milano has to say about Milan or the 80's (I actually was in Milano - a great city - in the 80's briefly), but what I do know is that it is a very good album. Karen O of The Yeah Yeah Yeahs has never been better, and Parquet Courts (who I love anyway - they have two very fine guitarists in their ranks - Andrew Savage and Austin Brown) sound completely different, fresh, and new. Check it out now!


And a couple of older videos I shot of Parquet Courts that I can't get enough of:


Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Courtney Barnett + Kurt Vile = Awesome!


Cool, Newish Video: “Soul and Cigarette” feat. Parquet Courts From Daniele Luppi’s forthcoming concept album MILANO, out October 27th



Pussy Riot Protests At Trump Tower In New York




Pussy Riot statement:
We remember when we were imprisoned, we received news about hundreds of activists around the world putting on balaclavas and going to the streets to support us. That was the moment we understood we are not alone. But we should not forget that even though we’ve come to the other side of the fence, there are still hundreds of political prisoners behind bars waiting for your support. We received a lot of letters, smiles, and noise from you.
To continue we’re calling on you today to raise attention to two guys from Ukraine: film director Oleg Sentsov and anarchist Olexandr Kolchenko, who are in Russian prison right now. Sentsov got 20 years in prison, Kolchenko got 10 years. Because they, like you, did not sit by — they were fighting for their freedom in Crimea, which was annexed by Putin. During the investigation in Russia Oleg Sentsov was tortured and two months ago, after our action, he was transported to a penal colony with some of the cruelest conditions in Russia — “Polar Bear.” We decided to do an action right now, while we are in New York, with activists here because we believe there are no borders to our solidarity.
We came to occupy Trump Tower to call attention to political prisoners. We believe that political prisoners and their protection are more important than the sexist bullshit that people have been focused on.
Defending political prisoners is an issue that transcends borders. We are acting in solidarity against leaders like Putin, who has exercised authoritarian force and Trump, who is displaying authoritarian tendencies — because we all need to be fighting together on behalf of dissidents everywhere.
We, Pussy Riot, invite you to join our fabulous and bold path: ask questions of your politicians who shake hands with Putin in international forums, support advocacy, go out into the streets. And put on your own political, public actions too.


Monday, October 23, 2017

Playlist: October Blues, October Folk

Blind Blake
Bo Carter
Mississippi Sheiks
Blind Blake
Alan Lomax Blues Songbook (2 CD)
Barbara Dane & The Chambers Brothers
Barbara Dane & Lightnin' Hopkins


Gordon Lightfoot
Tom Paxton
Tom Rush
Tim Buckley
Tim Hardin
Gene Clark
Fred Neil
Fred Neil & Vince Martin
Fairport Convention
Jesse Ed Davis

Thursday, October 19, 2017

Representative Al Green's Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump


ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT

AGAINST  
DONALD JOHN TRUMP

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
In the Congress of the United States of America 
RESOLUTION 
RESOLVED, that Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, has undermined the integrity of his office with impunity, has brought disrepute on the presidency with immunity, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the American people, is unfit to be President and is impeached pursuant to Article II, Section IV of the Constitution of the United States of America, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: 
ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AGAINST DONALD JOHN TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS OF A NATURE WHICH MAY WITH PECULIAR PROPRIETY BE DENOMINATED POLITICAL, NOT REQUIRING THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME, AND EXCLUSIVELY THE JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR IMPEACHMENT PURPOSES. 
ARTICLE I 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, has under the inane pretext of dispensing with political correctness, produced a demonstrable record of inciting white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, race-baiting, and racism by demeaning, defaming, disrespecting, and disparaging women and certain minorities. 
In so doing, Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, has fueled and is fueling an alt-right hate machine and its worldwide covert sympathizers engendering racial antipathy, LGBTQ enmity, religious anxiety, stealthy sexism, and dreadful xenophobia, perfidiously causing immediate injury to American society, to wit: 
On September 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering stealthy sexism and racial antipathy when he disrespected, disparaged, and demeaned mothers of professional football players by calling them dogs as he made the widely published statement: “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired? He's fired!’” 
On September 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering racial antipathy when he disrespected and disparaged professional football players, approximately 70% of whom are reportedly African American, by calling them sons of dogs as he made the widely published statement: 
“Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired? He's fired!’” 
On September 30, 2017, Donald John Trump incited bigotry and race-baiting, engendering racial antipathy when he disrespected, disparaged, and demeaned Puerto Ricans, who are Americans, by implying Puerto Ricans want others to do for them what they won’t do for themselves as he made the widely published claim: “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.” 
Further, on October 3, 2017, while in Puerto Rico, as was widely shown on American television, Donald John Trump incited bigotry engendering racial antipathy when he disparaged Puerto Ricans by stating, “I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack because we spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that’s fine, we’ve saved a lot of lives.” The President did not make similar widely published comments about Texas or Florida. 
On January 27, 2017, Donald John Trump incited xenophobia and hate against Muslims in the United States of America, engendering religious anxiety when he disrespected Islam by issuing Executive Order 13769, fulfilling a campaign promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States of America. This widely published campaign promise is dated December 7, 2015, and reads as follows: “DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON PREVENTING MUSLIM IMMIGRATION 
(New York, NY) December 7th, 2015 — Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” 
On March 4, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering racial antipathy, as he defamed, disrespected, and disparaged President Barack Obama by making the widely published, since discredited claim: “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” 
On July 26, 2017, Donald John Trump incited bigotry, engendering LGBTQ enmity, when he disparaged and disrespected transgender Americans by indicating that the costs of their medical care outweighs the sacrifice they are willing to make for our country as he made the widely published statement: 
“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and as a result is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE II 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, did betray his trust as President, and bring shame and dishonor to the office of the presidency by associating the majesty and dignity of the presidency with causes rooted in white supremacy, bigotry, racism, anti-semitism, white nationalism, and neo-nazism when, to wit: 
On August 15, 2017, Donald John Trump made a widely published statement characterizing a group of anti-semites, bigots, racists, white nationalists, and Ku Klux Klansmen who rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, as “very fine people.” 
Thereafter, on August 23, 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released a two-page decision in which it was stated that they were, “Disturbed by the failure at the highest political level of the United States of America to unequivocally reject and condemn the racist violent events and demonstrations led by the aforementioned groups, thereby potentially fueling the proliferation of racist discourse and incidents throughout the State party, and deeply concerned by the example this failure could set for the rest of the world.” 
On October 7, 2017, hate groups were once again back in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, chanting “You will not replace us!” Since this event on October 7, the President has made many widely published statements about many things including, but not limited to, the National Football League, but has not made one widely published statement condemning the hate groups for returning to the place where an innocent person lost her life at the hands of hate. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, and has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE III 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, did engage in perfidy by making the widely reported claim that three to five million people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election and further expending tax dollars to establish a commission to investigate his claim, to wit: 
On November 27, 2016, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” 
On November 27, 2016, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias – big problem!” 
On January 25, 2017, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and....” 
On July 1, 2017, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?” 
On June 28, 2017, according to highly reported news stories, the Commission previously referenced by President Donald John Trump requested detailed voter registration data from all 50 states, including names, addresses, and other sensitive data for every voter in the country. Several states refused to send the information, and some states have been prevented by courts from turning over the information. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the 
presidency, and has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE IV 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, while aware of the widely reported history of the unlawful abuses and brutality perpetrated by many, not all, police officers against innocent persons in the United States of America, did betray his trust as President, bringing shame and dishonor to the office of the presidency by encouraging law enforcement officials to violate the constitutional rights of suspects in their care, custody, and control, to wit: 
On July 28, 2017, Donald John Trump, in a speech in front of the Suffolk County Police Department in Long Island, New York, stated that, "And when you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in – rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don't hit their head, and they’ve just killed somebody — don't hit their head. I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay?’” 
This statement is injurious not only to the rule of law, which presumes innocence until guilt is proven in a court of law, but also to the administration of justice, which requires that care is given to persons held in the custody of law enforcement. Our nation is founded upon a social contract where the constitutional rights of the individual are not surrendered because he or she is accused of a crime. To speak to the contrary is a violation of the presidential oath to which Donald John Trump is bound. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of his oath to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
RESOLVED, that Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, has undermined the integrity of his office with impunity, has brought disrepute on the presidency with immunity, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the American people, is unfit to be President and is impeached pursuant to Article II, Section IV of the Constitution of the United States of America, and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: 
ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT EXHIBITED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN THE NAME OF ITSELF AND OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AGAINST DONALD JOHN TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT OF ITS IMPEACHMENT AGAINST HIM FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS OF A NATURE WHICH MAY WITH PECULIAR PROPRIETY BE DENOMINATED POLITICAL, NOT REQUIRING THE COMMISSION OF A CRIME, AND EXCLUSIVELY THE JURISDICTION OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR IMPEACHMENT PURPOSES. 
ARTICLE I 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, has under the inane pretext of dispensing with political correctness, produced a demonstrable record of inciting white supremacy, sexism, bigotry, hatred, xenophobia, race-baiting, and racism by demeaning, defaming, disrespecting, and disparaging women and certain minorities. 
In so doing, Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, has fueled and is fueling an alt-right hate machine and its worldwide covert sympathizers engendering racial antipathy, LGBTQ enmity, religious anxiety, stealthy sexism, and dreadful xenophobia, perfidiously causing immediate injury to American society, to wit: 
On September 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering stealthy sexism and racial antipathy when he disrespected, disparaged, and demeaned mothers of professional football players by calling them dogs as he made the widely published statement: “Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired? He's fired!’” 
On September 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering racial antipathy when he disrespected and disparaged professional football players, approximately 70% of whom are reportedly African American, by calling them sons of dogs as he made the widely published statement: 
“Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he's fired? He's fired!’” 
On September 30, 2017, Donald John Trump incited bigotry and race-baiting, engendering racial antipathy when he disrespected, disparaged, and demeaned Puerto Ricans, who are Americans, by implying Puerto Ricans want others to do for them what they won’t do for themselves as he made the widely published claim: “They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.” 
Further, on October 3, 2017, while in Puerto Rico, as was widely shown on American television, Donald John Trump incited bigotry engendering racial antipathy when he disparaged Puerto Ricans by stating, “I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but you’ve thrown our budget a little out of whack because we spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico, and that’s fine, we’ve saved a lot of lives.” The President did not make similar widely published comments about Texas or Florida. 
On January 27, 2017, Donald John Trump incited xenophobia and hate against Muslims in the United States of America, engendering religious anxiety when he disrespected Islam by issuing Executive Order 13769, fulfilling a campaign promise to ban Muslims from entering the United States of America. This widely published campaign promise is dated December 7, 2015, and reads as follows: “DONALD J. TRUMP STATEMENT ON PREVENTING MUSLIM IMMIGRATION 
(New York, NY) December 7th, 2015 — Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.” 
On March 4, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race-baiting and racism, engendering racial antipathy, as he defamed, disrespected, and disparaged President Barack Obama by making the widely published, since discredited claim: “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my ‘wires tapped’ in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!” 
On July 26, 2017, Donald John Trump incited bigotry, engendering LGBTQ enmity, when he disparaged and disrespected transgender Americans by indicating that the costs of their medical care outweighs the sacrifice they are willing to make for our country as he made the widely published statement: 
“After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and as a result is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE II 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, did betray his trust as President, and bring shame and dishonor to the office of the presidency by associating the majesty and dignity of the presidency with causes rooted in white supremacy, bigotry, racism, anti-semitism, white nationalism, and neo-nazism when, to wit: 
On August 15, 2017, Donald John Trump made a widely published statement characterizing a group of anti-semites, bigots, racists, white nationalists, and Ku Klux Klansmen who rallied in Charlottesville, Virginia, as “very fine people.” 
Thereafter, on August 23, 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination released a two-page decision in which it was stated that they were, “Disturbed by the failure at the highest political level of the United States of America to unequivocally reject and condemn the racist violent events and demonstrations led by the aforementioned groups, thereby potentially fueling the proliferation of racist discourse and incidents throughout the State party, and deeply concerned by the example this failure could set for the rest of the world.” 
On October 7, 2017, hate groups were once again back in Charlottesville, Virginia, at the statue of Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, chanting “You will not replace us!” Since this event on October 7, the President has made many widely published statements about many things including, but not limited to, the National Football League, but has not made one widely published statement condemning the hate groups for returning to the place where an innocent person lost her life at the hands of hate. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American society, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the Presidency, and has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE III 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, did engage in perfidy by making the widely reported claim that three to five million people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election and further expending tax dollars to establish a commission to investigate his claim, to wit: 
On November 27, 2016, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally.” 
On November 27, 2016, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias – big problem!” 
On January 25, 2017, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and....” 
On July 1, 2017, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that, “Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?” 
On June 28, 2017, according to highly reported news stories, the Commission previously referenced by President Donald John Trump requested detailed voter registration data from all 50 states, including names, addresses, and other sensitive data for every voter in the country. Several states refused to send the information, and some states have been prevented by courts from turning over the information. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the 
presidency, and has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, and is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 
ARTICLE IV 
That Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American society, while aware of the widely reported history of the unlawful abuses and brutality perpetrated by many, not all, police officers against innocent persons in the United States of America, did betray his trust as President, bringing shame and dishonor to the office of the presidency by encouraging law enforcement officials to violate the constitutional rights of suspects in their care, custody, and control, to wit: 
On July 28, 2017, Donald John Trump, in a speech in front of the Suffolk County Police Department in Long Island, New York, stated that, "And when you see these towns and when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in – rough. I said, ‘Please don’t be too nice.’ Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over? Like, don't hit their head, and they’ve just killed somebody — don't hit their head. I said, ‘You can take the hand away, okay?’” 
This statement is injurious not only to the rule of law, which presumes innocence until guilt is proven in a court of law, but also to the administration of justice, which requires that care is given to persons held in the custody of law enforcement. Our nation is founded upon a social contract where the constitutional rights of the individual are not surrendered because he or she is accused of a crime. To speak to the contrary is a violation of the presidential oath to which Donald John Trump is bound. 
In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity and proprieties thereof, and of his oath to “faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as President to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of America, is unfit to be President. 
Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as President, warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of America. 

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Cool, New Releases: Beck, St. Vincent, Courtney Barnett, Kurt Vile, Eminem, Liam Gallagher, Robert Plant, Mark Kozelek



NEW STUFF:

Beck Colors - NO


St. Vincent Masseducation -  NO

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice - YES!
Eminem "Anti-Trump Freestyle" -  YES!

Liam Gallagher As You Were - YES

Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye & Jim White Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye & Jim White - YES

Robert Plant Carry A Fire - Yes

----------------------------------------------------------------

OLD STUFF:

Blind Blake Discography -  YES!
Mississippi John Hurt Discography -  YES!

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Love That Burns - The Blues Years -  YES

Tim Buckley Discography -  YES!
Tim Hardin Discography -  YES!

------------------------------------------------------------



New Stuff:

Beck Colors - NO
St. Vincent Masseducation -  NO

I didn't care for either of these new albums. They both sound very disco, revolving around keyboards, effects, and synthesizers, although these two artists were originally guitar-based. It just sounds like they want to sell a lot of records, like something off of Now That's What I Call Music. And sorry, Beck, that Scientology thing will always come between us...

Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile Lotta Sea Lice - YES!

Very nice collaboration. Lotsa guitars, lotsa sea lice...

Eminem "Anti-Trump Freestyle" -  YES!

Eminem surprised and impressed a lot of people with a searing freestyle attacking Trump and sounding off on the controversy of football players kneeling for the National Anthem to protest police violence against Blacks and other injustices. You can see it here.

Liam Gallagher As You Were - YES

The other Oasis brother's first solo album. Worth a listen, especially if you're a fan of Brit pop.

Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye & Jim White Mark Kozelek With Ben Boye & Jim White - YES

Another good release from Sun Kil Moon's Mark Kozelek. But Mark, are you in danger of flooding the market for Mark Kozelek product? I think this is the fifth or sixth album he has released recently. Sometimes less IS more.....

Robert Plant Carry A Fire - Yes

Not bad for an old timer, or anyone, for that matter. Robert Plant continues his exploration of world music, Americana, and more.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Live Stuff:

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, San Francisco. Highlights: Tributes to the late, great Tom Petty - Conor Oberst doing"Even Walls Fall Down" and Steve Earle's performance of "Refugee". Also, Steve Earle and Emmylou Harris doing "Love Hurts".


Old Stuff:

This is some of the old stuff I've been listening to and it's all awesome!

Blind Blake Discography -  YES!


Mississippi John Hurt Discography -  YES!

Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac Love That Burns - The Blues Years -  YES

Tim Buckley Discography -  YES!
Tim Hardin Discography -  YES!

Cool, New Song "Meaning" Ty Segall (feat. Denee Segall on vocals)


Sunday, October 15, 2017

Did A Community Boycott Force O'mei's White Supremacist Owner To Sell His Santa Cruz Restaurant? ...Or Not?




Roger Grigsby keeps us guessing.

Now the white supremacist Santa Cruz restaurant owner has posted a sign in his Mission St. eatery stating that O'mei is undergoing a change in ownership and we should "stay tuned"...

Note to Roger Grigsby: Please email me at thissmallplanet@gmail.com to tell your side of the story. I will publish you unedited.

On Friday we reported that O'mei was set to re-open in November (and had already done an informal "soft re-openning" this week and was looking to hire new staff). Now it seems O'mei will reopen, but with a new owner, hopefully one who does not share Roger's repugnant political and racial views who simply wants to run a great restaurant.

To recap, as reported earlier, liberal Santa Cruz balked at supporting the restaurant after it was discovered that the owner, Roger Grigsby, an American of European descent, had contributed $500 to the U.S. Senate campaign of racist David Duke of Louisiana and that he had generally extremist white supremacist beliefs which targeted Jews and other ethnic minorities as responsible for most of our woes.

We will be interested to see if the sale actually goes through and to whom. Many will wonder if it will be a sham sale to a friend or relative and that Roger Grigsby will remain the de facto owner. Or perhaps it is true that in the face of a community boycott and an employee walk-out, Grigsby concluded he could no longer do business at O'mei and he should therefore at least try to sell the business.

We shall see.





UPDATE: The Santa Cruz Sentinel reports that O'mei is being sold to the chef who is "like a son" to Roger Grigsby, but who assures us he is "not political". I smell a rat. I call on the community to continue the boycott against O'mei as Roger Grigsby is still legally the owner. When and if the sale actually through, as opposed to talking about changing owners, we can then re-evaluate the situation.

Cool, New Song Father John Misty "Pure Country"

I still don't what to make of this guy, but this song is pretty cool. It's a countrified version of the title track from his last album Pure Comedy called "Pure Country"...

Friday, October 13, 2017

O'Mei To Re-Open? Will Santa Cruz Patronize A White Supremacist Restaurateur?


O'Mei, a Chinese restaurant on Mission St. in Santa Cruz, California, closed in August after it was revealed that the owner, Roger Grigsby, had donated $500 to the U.S. Senate campaign of white supremacist David Duke of Louisiana.

Roger has been a right-wing gadfly in this liberal town since his UCSC days in the 80's, when he opposed anti-apartheid activists (who wanted University of California to divest from South Africa-related investments in order to bring about pressure to end the racist apartheid system) and misrepresented himself to a progressive professor as a current student in order to gather evidence to "frame" the professor as a biased "Marxist". He also, along the way, bicycled around Taiwan (and wrote a book about it), and founded O'Mei.

Since Roger has had Asian wives/girlfriends and has had friends/employees of color, he claims to not be a racist, but defended his contributions to David Duke and Trump, stating it is simply logical for a white person to support white supporters of white rights. Roger also thinks Jews are responsible for most of the world's woes.

Here's a summary of the events in August and September...

The restaurant has been closed for over a month, after dozens of negative reviews appeared on Yelp and the employees walked out.

This past week, there has been an "Open" sign on the restaurant, although no customers were spotted. There is also a NOW HIRING sign in the window (presumably the former employees won't return), and their Yelp page proclaims they will re-open officially on November 28, 2017.

Perhaps Roger thinks people in Santa Cruz will have forgotten his white supremacist links in the past month, or that the new students coming to UCSC won't know about the controversy.

I call on all non-racists in Santa Cruz to permanently boycott O'Mei.

To support O'Mei is to support David Duke, Donald Trump, and white supremacism.

Santa Cruz stands united against racism, fear, and bigotry and in support of peace, love, diversity, and community.


Thursday, October 5, 2017

Classic Rockers Still Rockin': Byrds, CSN, Judy Collins, Led Zeppelin, Manassas, Flying Burrito Brothers, Van Morrison


Chris Hillman "Bidin' My Time"
David Crosby "Sky Trails"
Robert Plant "Carry Fire"
Stephen Stills & Judy Collins "Everybody Knows"
Van Morrison "Roll With The Punches"

The Byrds, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Judy Collins, Led Zeppelin, Manassas, Flying Burrito Brothers, Van Morrison... were all chart toppers in the 60s and 70s but some of their members are still recording and touring in 2017.

Chris Hillman of The Byrds, Manassas, and The Flying Burrito Brothers has a new album out. It's not only "not bad" for a 70-something guy, it's a good album from anyone, anytime. Byrds bandmate and CSN member Crosby also has a new album, and his voice is surprisingly strong, although the songs seem less inspired than Hillman's.

Stephen Stills & Judy Collins, old friends and lovers, have a new album and tour as a duo and it well worth a listen.

Van Morrison's new album at first glance is very similar to past efforts and therefore possibly redundant.

Robert Plant could make hundreds of millions of dollars doing half-baked rehashes of Led Zep's hits with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones and, as much as I'd love to see that, you have to admire him for refusing to do so and instead doing his unique mash-up of Americana and world music. This new album is quite good, much like his recent releases.




Cool, New Video Liam Gallagher "Greedy Soul" (Recorded At Air Studios) From Forthcoming Album "As You Were"


Vote Here For 2018 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees (Pick 5)

You can vote online here for 5 of the 2018 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in beautiful downtown Cleveland...

My picks....

The MC5
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies



The 2018 Nominees:

Bon Jovi
Kate Bush
The Cars
Depeche Mode
Dire Straits
Eurythmics
The J. Geils Band
LL Cool J
MC5
The Meters
The Moody Blues
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies

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The Hall is a bit of a joke, of course. There are many people in it who don't belong (Madonna, NWA), and many classic artists, for whom it is an insult they are not already in. It's basically the case that whoever Rolling Stone's Jann Wenner and his friends think should be in is in.

I did enjoy going to the Hall in person however (they have some cool displays), and it's a bit of fun every year to see who gets included and who gets dissed (once again).

My picks (as usual) are classic artists who should have been in a long time ago.