Chris Dodd has shown an enormous amount of integrity throughout his uphill campaign in Iowa. Many, including me, have said that he's tilting at windmills.
In Iowa, where the second tier candidates have begun to strike deals on the second choice votes in the caucus, idealogues like Dennis Kuchinich, have succumbed to dealing. In the caucuses, if your candidate does not reach the 15% threshold of caucus voters, those votes are able to migrate to other candidates. Some of these below-threshold candidates have begun to encourage their supporters to vote for specific candidates. For example, Kuchinich has thrown his second choice votes to Barack Obama.
Last week, former governor George Bush apparently used a pocket veto to dismiss the latest military funding bill, which because of constraints placed on litigating against the Iraqui government, he disapproved.
I've had a cold off and on for about two months, with a bout of pneumonia thrown in, and I feel miserable, and I've stood impatiently in long pharmacy lines with hacking and sniffing neighbors, but I'm not sure any bottle of Robitussin is worth an overnight in the pokey.
The wind chill in Central Connecticut today is -7 degrees, and driving in I noticed the stretch of Connecticut river that forks to the West of Wilcox Island in Middletown has frozen over.
I was listening to a radio report about the Justice Department prosecutor John Durham (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Colin McEnroe) who has been assigned to pursue a criminal case involving the destroyed CIA torture tapes, and I thought about a great Richard Meyer song, The January Cold.
Meyer was one of the talented songwriters who performed on, and helped edit The Fast Folk Musical Magazine, a quasi-monthy subscription magazine and LP (later CD), which was a compilation of songs written by up and comers in folk music. Some who recorded for FFMM, were Lyle Lovett, Nanci Griffith, Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, John Gorka, Hugh Blumenfeld, Pierce Pettis, Greg Brown and just about anybody, who was anybody, and anybody who was nobody in folk music at the time.
Meyer's song was written on a bet. I can't remember which songwriter he wagered, but the challenge was that each songwriter would challenge the other with an impossible topic about which to write a song. Meyer was challenged to write a song about the Teapot Dome scandal. He did, and The January Cold is magnificent. It first appeared on FFMM 105, May 1984, which also included performances by Jack Hardy, Shawn Colvin and another amazing song, The Sentinel, by John Gorka. The song later appeared on Meyer's album Laughing Scared, and on a Fast Folk Musical Magazine compilation on the Smithsonian Folkways label called, A Community of Singers. The songs is currently available on iTunes. Here are the lyrics:
THE JANUARY COLD
The year was nineteen twenty one Woodrow Wilson was not well He was beaten by the aftermath of the ‘War to end all wars’ And handsome Warren Harding stood in the January Cold And swore to restore America’s God given heart a soul
Harding was an average man whose friends played him for a fool They abused the nation and the man to keep their pockets full The consecrated president with a child by an affair Assured me and my countrymen with his wife who’s name was clear
And how the flappers danced How the movies flashed And how the strength of business before the market crashed And how the modern world was born in the aftermath or war While the bally-hoo went on and on before the market hit the floor
We made late peace with Germany and I marched and celebrated’ For Lindbergh’s flight and prohibition we toasted and awe hated My government in Washington by of and for the people Isolated and disarmed the country that seemed to have saved the world
I worked the naval oil reserve in Wyoming’s Teapot Dome When the Secretary of the interior sold the navy down the road From the oil fields to Canada where the corporate deals were made Or secret loans and gifts before the Congress learned the game
Chorus
So how did free American take the selling of her oil And the butchering of offices by appointed criminals They called the Senate committees scandal mongers malicious and unclean Bolsheviks and Partisans that the country did not need
The Harding I remember our hail-fellow well met Abused by native faith in friends and naïve unworldliness Died poisoned in Alaska when the scandals came to fame Some say it was his wife’s revenge or mercy for his name
The song readily brings to mind the many problems and scandals of the current administration, not the least of which is the alleged involvement in the destruction of evidence in the CIA torture case. Yesterday, bipartisan members of the 9/11 commission published an accusatory op-ed in the New York Times, and today the Times an encouraging editorial on Attorney General Mukasey's appointment of Durham to investigate the case. The Washington Post believes Durham is the right man for the job because of his integrity and his dogged pursuit of other cases.
To be sure, there is no evidence to cast aspersions on Durham's reputation. He's brought down the mob, the FBI in Boston and Connecticut governor John Rowland, and several other Connecticut political slimeballs.
Projections are that there will be claims of executive privilege and state secrets, and that the investigation will likely extend beyond George Bush's presidency. Still, the jails will be ready to embrace all whom Durham is able to identify as culpable. As Martin Luther King said, the arc of justice is long, but sure.
The $1.5 billion for transitional, supportive and permanent housing, and for emergency shelters is important (no not simply important, vital and lifesaving) ask anyone who runs a shelter and they'll tell you that every shelter is overburdened, and there's not enough space to house those in need.
There are Republicans like Stu McKinney who would like to add state dollars to federal dollars ($126 million) that Connecticut gets.
Then there are conservative radio talk show hosts, like Buddy Vicevich, who seem to contradict themselves (and their own "christian" principles) when they say things like:
Homelessness is everyone's responsibility. Individuals need to volunteer and donate money to feed and shelter the poor and needy. And certainly local town and city governments have a responsibility to become involved as well. I am not sure it is a state government issue although I could be convinced otherwise. I know its not a federal mandate.
No Jim, it's a mandate from your friend, Jesus. How do you think he would have supported homeless vets?
The worst part, though, is that we're spending $2 billion a week fighting an immoral war in Iraq, and in the process creating a whole new generation of homeless vets.
How did I ever get to 55 without understanding what the Iowa caucuses are, and how they work, and then to realize, that I'm not exactly sure, at this moment still, how they work.
I owe it (homonym not intended) to the 24/7 media for hammering away at Iowa for the past three months to make me even wonder what the hell a caucus (Iowa style) is. First of all the Democratic and Republican caucuses are different. The Republicans use a confidential vote. The Democrats, well, here's an explanation.
Until this point, I just accepted the Iowa results on faith. Just the same kind of faith I show each time I walk into an elevator and expect it to work without fail. Now, I find myself thinking of Iowa a little too often, and while I would hope my point of reference for those thoughts would be Greg Brown, Dave Moore or the Creative Writing Program at UI, it's more about Hillary and Obama, as I hum:
WWUH radio bluegrass host Kevin Lynch has been spending some time in Holland recently, and he sent back some lovely photos of what the Dutch call, "frosty snow," and we hear call, "hoar frost." It happens when moisture in the air, usually from a fog, freezes on vegetation.
Kevin said I could share the photos, and he wishes all WWUH listeners, Gellukkig Nieuw Jaar!
Politico notes that Ralph Nader has officially endorsed John Edwards, and officially dissed Hillary Clinton.
Unfortunately, the article perpetuates the myth that Nader lost the election in New Hampshire and Florida for Al Gore. Let's be clear. Bush stole the election in Florida. Al Gore conceded. And Al Gore couldn't even win his home state. Add it up and you'll find that Al Gore lost the election on his own.
For 22 years I've made an end-of-year list of my favorite albums which included 13 entries, but from the beginning it's been a fraud. I've been called on it often, but I really don't care. The truth is, I have never been able to limit my selection to 13 albums, so there are lots of ties, and I usually end up with 25 or more albums on the Top 13 list.
This is the first year that this list appears on January 1, on the web, in a preview of tomorrow's show.
Here's the list, and a few words about each of my favorite albums of the year.
Caterwaul Top 13 of 2007
1. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss – Raising Sand (Rounder) When I heard about this album I thought it was a really bad idea. But leave it to T Bone Burnett to create something in which two distinctive musical talents find parts of themselves we've never heard before. It's an astonishing piece of work, and a triumph for little old Rounder Records.
2. The Avett Brothers – Introducing Emotionalism (Ramseur) Part punk, part string band, this trio produces amazing, agressive mountain music.
3. Joni Mitchell – Shine (Hear) In spite of her self-imposed retirement, Joni Mitchell returned with a mature and wonderful set of songs with roots in a world gone wrong. Rani Arbo and daisy mayhem – Big Old Life (Signature Sounds) Rani and a the band created a collection of songs which are a celebration of life and a warning to enjoy what we have, while we have it.
Nerissa and Katryna Nields – Sister Holler (Mercy House) These sisters have been creating ethereal, intetwining harmonies for years, but in their "renovation" of some classic folk music themes, they've never been more at home with their music.
4.Loudon Wainwright III – Strange Weirdoes (Concord) One can only hope for a bit of good fortune for Wainwright. Maybe he'll get an Oscar for this soundtrack recording he co-produced with Joe Henry for the film Knocked Up. BTW, Wainwright plays the obstetrician in the film.
5. Levon Helm – Dirt Farmer (Vanguard) This former essential member of The Band, proves he is still making vital music despite having been laid low by a serious bout with cancer of the vocal chords. Mavis Staples - We’ll Never Turn Back (Anti) Now that Rick Rubin is Mavis Staples represents a legendary rhythm and blues output from a legendary music family. Here she re-makes classic protest music from a turning point in American history.
6. Steve Earle – Washington Square Serenade (Artemis) Earle's left Nashville for NYC, and this is the proof. An edgy earful of city ecstacy.
7. Richard Thompson – Sweet Warrior (Shout Factory)Linda Thompson – Versatile Heart (Rounder)Teddy Thompson – Up Front and Down Low (Verve) Ex-spouses Richard and Linda, and their progeny, Teddy were all busy this year creating albums as different from each other as albums can be. Richard produced a rocker which yoked the political to the pedestrian concerns of living life, Linda's is soulful and colored by heartache and reality, and Teddy went all old-country on us.
8.Something ‘Bout You – Amy Gallatin and Roger Williams (Happy Appy) Amy and Roger abandoned Connecticut for a few weeks and went to Nashville to record this superb collection of old country chestnuts. Wow.
9. Look Out – The Hackensaw Boys (Nettwerk) If you like your bluegrass punchy, impolite and in-your-face, then you'll love the Hackensaw Boyrs.
Adrienne Young – Room To Grow (Addie Belle) I'm awfully glad that Adrienne abandoned jazz singing for country music. She just keeps getting better and better.
10. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band – It’s Not Big, It’s Large (Lost Highway) It's always an occasion when Lyle puts out an album of new and original music. He's got one of the most distinctive voices in music, and his attack is always smart and innovative. Here's an old favorite, with the Eraserhead look.
Jason Isbell – Sirens of the Ditch (New West) Isbell was a singer and songwriter with Drive-By Truckers. He carries it all well on his own.
11. Peter Case – Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John (Yep Roc) Rolling around the country in rented cars packed with old guitars, Case is another in a long and respected line of American troubadours.
Patty Griffin – Children Running Through (ATO) This fiery Maine-to-Texas transplant proves again that a great singer can be a great songwriter.
Michael Fracasso – Red Dog Blues (TMG) Another Austin transplant, Fracasso keeps writing amazing songs that he sings with the musical ghosts of the Louvins, the Everlys, Roy Orbison and Gene Pitney hovering nearby.
12. The Gourds – Noble Creatures (Yep Roc) The Band channeled throught the hearts and minds of a psychedelic, Austin, acoustic, retro-country jam band. The Imagined Village – The Imagined Village (Realworld) English country music re-imagined by the likes of Billy Bragg, the Carthys, Sheila Chandra, the Copper Family and others. Watch the Bragg video of Hard Time of Old Englandhere. Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (Nonesuch) The greatest American band, great again. 13. Pine Leaf Boys – Blues de Musicien (Arhoolie) Ann Savoy and Her Sleepless Knights – If Dreams Come True (Memphis International)
Red Stick Ramblers – Made In the Shade (Sugar Hill) Listen to these together or separately and you'll discover the distinct and diverse genius alive on the prairies of Soutwest Louisiana
