Whad'dya mean "we," Kemosabe?

It's easy to be a reformer - as John McCain brags - putting scoundrels in prison. Jack Abramoff may be the most famous of crooked lobbyists to risk the wrath of McCain. But as the New York Times points out this morning, in eliminating Abramoff, McCain actually provided benefit to tribal lobbyists who had supported his campaigns.

It isn't a gamble to go against your own party, if, in the end, you benefit personally.

The Times article begins with an anecdote of a winning night at the tables that McCain had right here in Connecticut (actually on sovereign Pequot nation property). Seems like, on that night, he was very lucky. Isn't it a cliche that one way of siphoning unregulated donations to a politician is to let him win at the poker table?

I guess the odds were with him. And he didn't have to ride the Fung Wah bus home.

Foxwoods here I come

I'm listening to talk radio, and I've decided that politicians are smarter than I ever give them credit for.

So far, four people have called the radio host to find out exactly what they're going to get back from the government. People love it when you send them money, no matter how little.

Hey, should I tell them, or will it be you? That money they're about to "get" is the money they've already given, will give, or their children will give to the government in the form of taxes to pay for giveaway programs like this, and the war in Iraq. Those politicians aren't "giving" us anything but bigger problems. Stimulus package indeed!

Three hundred dollars. Wow, that's 1200 quarters for the slots at Foxwoods. Or enough for a scalped ticket in the pit for the Bruce show at the XL Center (though I may have to go to the XXL Center, myself). Or a couple ounces of pot. I can see how this is going to be a great stimulus for the economy.

Three hundred dollars. That's a cartful of groceries at Whole Foods. Or almost enough for a 13 quart Creuset Dutch Oven at Williams Sonoma. Or one Open Toe Manolo Blahnik Mary Jane Shoe. Or 90 minutes on the town in Manhattan.

All the while our roads, and bridges, and sewers, and sidewalks crumble.

Concerts of the Week

Crowded House
Fri. Aug 3, Foxwoods, Ledyard CT
Sat. Aug 4, Calvin Theater, Northampton MA

When Neil Finn invited former Crowded House members Nick Seymour and Mark Hart to help him on what was to be another solo album, Time On Earth became the first new Crowded House album in nearly 15 years. The group seemed unlikely candidates for a reunion after the suicide of popular Crowded House drummer Paul Hester. The album, which is another lovely outing for the band, begat a tour, with new drummer Mark Sherrod, which began with tryouts at the Troubadour in LA last week, and in a secret concert at a NYC club a few days later, and officially kicks off Saturday at the Calvin with another "tryout" at an Indian casino on Friday. Finn's beautiful folk-pop songs have always been among my favorites, and it's a total mystery that they never made a dent in the US charts beyond Don't Dream It's Over. In some ways, this band would have been a perfect headliner for the Newport Folk Festival (see below) Forget the Police, this is the reunion concert of the week.



Dunkin' Donuts Newport Folk Festival
July 3, 4, 5
Newport, RI

There's a lot of history attached to this festival, founded by George Wein in the early sixties, but that never stopped producers from exploring what's new and exciting in "folk" music. There are big names like Linda Rondstadt, Emmylou Harris, the Allman Brothers, and Ralph Stanley, but there are great new bands to consider like the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, the John Butler Trio and Elvis Perkins.


Podunk Bluegrass Festival
August 2-5
Martin Park, East Hartford CT

An honest-to-God big time bluegrass festival in a city park in East Hartford. Who woulda thunk it. Great bluegrass from Doyle Lawson, the Hunger Mountain Boys, Jesse McReynolds, Lost and Found and Rhonda Vincent.