Closing up shop

I’ve been writing and collecting stories, and they will be archived here indefinitely. I was too busy packing and moving, and then spending the past month on the west coast. I plan to update the site with all the content that is missing here, but there won’t be anything new here.

New projects are coming soon. My next job and next radio show will both begin before the end of summer. Right this second, you can CLICK HERE to see the last ten articles I wrote for Raw Story in May.

Stories I published Sunday on Raw Story

Sen. Joe Lieberman told Fox News that he would be hesitant to support the new nuclear treaty with Russia if President Barack Obama doesn’t commit to modernizing the nuclear arsenal. He also perpetuated fears of Iran.

As for the wire services, the Associated Press reports the government’s broadband funds are stimulating controversy.

An Israeli order paves the way for West Bank deportations, according to a new report highlighted by AFP.

And analysts say the risk of Japan going totally bankrupt is real.

Media indifference – The myth of a free press

Russia Today interviews Casey Rae-Hunter on Comcast FCC decision

Scott Horton interviews Dahr Jamail about WikiLeaks video from Antiwar Radio

Iraq killings are media indifference from Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting

Accountability Movement: Leading journalists expose the myth of a free press

Free community papers supporting net neutrality from Editor & Publisher

Malkia Cyril on the civil rights struggle for a free, open Internet

How to close the digital divide? Fund public libraries from Ed Week

NPR is making Rumsfeld look like a techie by comparison

Raw footage reveals O’Keefe lied about ACORN tapes

This week in comically evil corporate behavior from Grist

Lawsuit: Chiquita fruit company ‘funded death squads’ in Colombia

Actually, Governor, human bondage is ‘significant’ by John Nichols

Tom Hayden’s withdrawal plan for Afghanistan from The Nation

Why even the childless should care about school lunch from Grist

Collateral murder in Iraq – Fighting for net neutrality

Collateral murder in Iraq by Amy Goodman

Fox continues CBS, ABC, CNN propaganda to attack Iran from Project Censored

Ray McGovern’s letter to Robert Parry on Daniel Ellsberg

University paper battles restrictive media policy from SPLC

Apologist says now isn’t ‘right time’ for cracking down on unpaid internships

Comcast court victory a major setback to net neutrality efforts

Andrew Romanoff: Fighting for net neutrality from Huffington Post

Common Cause blasts net neutrality decision

US troops laughed as they killed reporters, civilians

Leaked video shows US forces laughing as they kill reporters, civilians

US troops violated Rules of Engagement in Reuters shooting

US should join the International Criminal Court from Toward Freedom

What’s real and what’s imagined in NYT’s product placement survey?

MLK’s death and other uncomfortable truths by Greg Guma

NPR studies NPR’s gender balance from FAIR

Sen. Durbin promises to support diversifying the airwaves

We need birth control, not geo-engineering from Grist

Sen. McCain: ‘I never considered myself a maverick’

Tea Party could cost Republicans in census

Philly to ease marijuana penalties

Stories I published Sunday on Raw Story

Free speech attorney Marjorie Heins told me in a fascinating exclusive interview that Obama “probably won’t have the courage” to rebuild the liberal wing of the Supreme Court.

With Justice John Paul Stevens retiring soon Republican Senator John Kyl threatened to filibuster if Obama’s choice to replace him is too ideological, for example if he or she stands up “for the little guy.”

And on a totally unrelated note, neoconservative commentator Bill Kristol told Fox News Sunday he believes “it would be better” for the US to attack Iran before Israel does. A reader posted a link to my story on a powerful Guardian article today called The Soldiers’ Burden.

Never a better time to fund community radio

Jeff Abrams of Boise Community Radio and Lupito Flores of KYRS Spokane have teamed up to make the case for financial support of independent, noncommercial radio projects like theirs for the latest newsletter from Social Justice Fund.

Here is an excerpt:

After lifting a decade-long application freeze, the FCC has recently awarded a wave of noncommercial broadcast licenses for grassroots organizations to establish new locally programmed, community-based radio stations across the country. These groups now have a powerful opportunity to use the ubiquitous nature of radio to re-connect communities – giving citizens their voice back and establishing new resources as indispensable as any city park, library or firehouse. Among other benefits, these new facilities will empower listeners and nonprofit groups by expanding awareness and mobilization capacity on local issues such as freedom of speech, women’s issues, cultural identity, arts and humanities, public health, environment, disability awareness, social welfare, and public governance.

Many new licensees have also recently received federal grant funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce to build these facilities. However, these awards are generally tied to a 25% local matching funds requirement.

Read the complete piece at the Social Justice Fund website.

Wrapping up my SXSW coverage in Boise Weekly

My final two pieces on SXSW were finally published on the Boise Weekly blog.

Read my review of Steven Soderbergh’s new documentary on Spalding Gray here.

“Though his one-man shows may not resonate with the average fan of mall security guard movies, Spalding Gray had a gift for examining universal truths.”

Invincible

The other piece that came out yesterday was my email interview with hip hop emcee and community organizer Invincible. She was busy down in Texas.

“I think women and all non-hetero-male gender’s perspectives are missing from most people’s Hip-Hop collections so it is long overdue to bring a balance.”

NEWS DELAY – Looting Main Street – Fed in hot water

Forgetting Dr. King’s dream of justice by Bill Moyers & Michael Winship

NPR’s ombudsman asks ‘Where are the women?’

Looting Main Street by Matt Taibbi

The Fed in hot water from Talking Points Memo

The push to legalize marijuana is real from The Atlantic

New journalism centers for public media from Save the News

TSA concedes body scanners store and record images from EPIC

Mountaintop removal crackdown could mean more than offshore drilling

Everything you need to know about Obama’s new fuel-economy rules from Grist

Quotes cut from my Boise Weekly article

I had too many great sources for my first-ever music feature in Boise Weekly, which came out in newsprint yesterday in Idaho. So I wanted to share a few more things these folks told me on the record. First of all, my title for the piece was “The Future of Music Will No Longer Fit Into the Containers of the Past: Strategies for Working Musicians from Industry Innovators at SXSW.”

Had to cut my opening line: “Sixth street is the cultural center of Austin, Texas, a city whose identity as “live music capital of the world” is now a registered trademark, just like its favorite slogan “keep Austin weird.””

One of my favorite things that Leeor Brown of Terrorbird and Friends of Friends told me about Been Meaning to Tell You, the latest record by Ernest Gonzales is: “It’s only a month later and Ernest’s amazing album is not a brand new record anymore! Four stars in Urb is already old news. I can’t go back to NPR a month later and be like, would you write that up again?”

Page from Ernest Gonzales' book

My friend Casey Rae-Hunter, communications director for Future of Music Coalition said: “When you look at the mobile space you’re going to be seeing people are going to get really used to accessing music in the cloud. They might eventually get used to not even ‘owning’ a digital file. Or maybe they will download it and they’ll have it on their home computer or stored on a server somewhere, but they’ll be able to access it via broadband or wi-fi or cell network on all of their devices.

“Apple bought Lala, and they may introduce a ‘cloud locker’ component to their iTunes service. That would let you play your stuff on any Apple device from wherever you are.”

My friend Eddie Sumlin of A Visual Sound didn’t make it into the piece at all but added: “I think the future of music is gonna be about creating authentic experiences. Radio is dope. I listen to people all around the world because I respect what they program. I go see certain artists because they bring a certain type of thing live. They do something that you could never experience digitally.”

Casey also said: “One reason the major labels are struggling is that they kind of lost the ability to inspire fans. Everyone’s trying to figure out how to compete with free. Well, you have to be able to sell to the hardcore fan. What the industry might need to figure out is how to monetize the behavioral activities the customers are already engaged in. And that’s the expectation of access on-demand. It’s conceivable that consumers will embrace streaming pretty much across the board if the business models allow it and the stuff is licensed and available. There’s an entire new generation that simply wants to be able to get what they want when they want it on whatever gadget they’re using. And it would be an added benefit if they wouldn’t get sued and it compensated artists.”

Finn Riggins rock out in a parking lot

I asked Bryan Calhoun, VP for new media at Sound Exchange, what he was doing ten years ago when Congress created the nonprofit royalty-collection agency. He replied: “Roughly ten years ago, I was doing A&R and marketing for record labels. There are hardly anymore A&R people period. With all the tools available to people, everybody can record, release and market themselves. Barriers to entry were still there ten years ago. The big problem now is getting above the clutter. So how do you stand above the rest, get into a position to make a living from your music? 2200 bands showcasing? What’s the end goal? Getting signed to a major record label? More and more people don’t see that as the holy grail anymore. Many artists and managers are looking forward to their contract expiring so they can do their own thing.”

Of working for Sound Exchange, Bryan told me: “I’ve got probably the coolest job. I contact artists and tell them I’ve got money to give them. Our board of directors is made up half of label people and half of artist people. Those are the people that get paid from Sound Exchange so it is in their interest to do their job efficiently.”

I asked Priya Dewan, US label manager for the mighty Warp Records, about their acquisition of new artists to the label. She said: “We’re constantly looking for new talent and signing new talent. New artists and existing artists putting out great new records… We can’t count on our back catalog. The more new cool and fresh new artists we get the better our chances are. People come to us because we have such a great roster.”

I asked how the Internet’s openness has contributed to Warp finding new musicians.

She said: “We’ve got specific sites that we visit to find out about up-and-coming artists. Talking to other artists, going to shows, reading blogs. A combination of things get us interested in the artists. Anybody who suggests a good music blog to me gets added to my Google Reader. I check that once a day. A lot of times our artists tell us about new artists. We get at least 10 to 15 demos a week on a slow week, physical and digital. When we put out a Grizzly Bear or Battles record, we’ll get a whole lot of demos that sound like them. I can’t think of an unsolicited demo we’ve listened to, where we called them back, and it resulted in signing.”

There was also more I was going to write about Finn Riggins, but Boise Weekly editors felt there had been a lot of coverage of their trip to Austin, so I kept it narrowed down to a partial list of their team and the story of vocalist/guitar player Lisa Simpson seeing some talented buskers. The one other funny thing she told me about sixth street in Austin was about a guy running down the street, pulling up his shirt to reveal a ‘Truffle Shuffle’ and yelling, “MTV Spring Break!” She said she looked at this dude, flashing his chest, and thought, “Is that for real? What is he on?” Ah, sixth street during SXSW. I miss it already.

View of 6th Street from patio stage of The Wave

NEWS DELAY – Citizens united against Citizens United

TOP STORIES

US oil company donated millions to climate skeptic groups, says Greenpeace

The obscenity of war by Amy Goodman

Citizens united against Citizens United by David Swanson

Police: Teaching kids to mistrust govt. makes couple ‘unsuitable’ parents

FINANCIAL SHENANIGANS

Bailed out banks are even more powerful now than before the crisis

Elizabeth Warren: Bank lobbyists fought for very thing they’re now against

Supreme Court hands victory to mutual fund industry

Student loans: Govt. is now officially in the banking business

TECHNOLOGY POLITICS

Google goes evil, gets in bed with Verizon by Josh Silver

PR firm behind propaganda videos given $25M stimulus contract

Google says China’s ‘great firewall’ blocked search

Fox News has best quarter in network history from Mediaite

POLITICAL INTRIGUE

Thanks health bill, for $250M back to abstinence-only education

Naomi Wolf thinks Tea Parties help fight fascism from Alternet

Brown vs. Democracy in California by George Lakoff

States high on marijuana tax as budget cure

NEWS DELAY – Attention deficit democracy – Yes Men

Plagued by bad memories? Call Death Bear

TOP STORIES

Letter sent to alleged drug kingpin details DEA surveillance

CPB’s new local journalism centers initiative from New Public Media

FCC removes gender from advertising nondiscrimination rules

Victim-blaming is alive in the school paper at American University

HEALTH REFORM

Ten things you didn’t know were in the health bill by Emily Badger

David Frum on health reform: ‘Repeal is literally impossible’

Insurers find loophole in health bill, say they don’t have to cover sick kids

The strange tale of ‘black liquor’ and $25B from The Takeaway

CLIMATE AWARENESS

Humans are too stupid to prevent climate change, says James Lovelock

Landmarks went dark worldwide to mark fourth annual Earth Hour

The Yes Men trick the world from Campus Progress

Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood promises bicyclists will finally have a voice

POLITICALLY SPEAKING

Nader on Attention deficit democracy from Common Dreams

Obama is ‘delivering, but for financial institutions’ says Chomsky

CNN claims only Dems want to close Guantanamo Bay prison

Watchdog files complaint against ‘deceptive and illegal’ Hannity concerts

Stories I published Sunday on Raw Story

Democrats include $250m for abstinence-only education in health bill

The Secular Coalition for America, a national advocacy organization representing secular Americans, expressed its deep disapproval over this reversal.

“2009 marked the first year in nearly three decades that federal birth control funding was focused unequivocally on science-based sex education. No federal funds were spent on abstinence-only-until-marriage programs–programs not supported by scientific consensus. We are greatly disappointed that health care reform was used as a vehicle for extending this theocratically-motivated program which ignores science,” said Executive Director Sean Faircloth.

Blogger Michael Petrelis, a gay rights activist, is curious how certain progressive cabinet officials feel about this aspect of health reform, but isn’t holding his breath waiting for a response:

I’d sure like to hear from gay White House staffers Brian Bond, the gay liaison, and Jeff Crowley, the head of the Office of National AIDS Policy, about the supposed benefits behind allocating so much money for abstinence programs long-debunked by scientific research. Anyone care to wager that Bond and Crowley don’t say a thing about this outrageous waste of money?

Mississippi Governor: Media gave health bill ‘longest wet kiss’ in history

Sen. Schumer: A vote for health bill will be ‘asset’ in November elections

Wannabe Senator willing to ‘work across the aisle’ for GOP ideas only

Obama’s surprise 1st Kabul visit since ordering surge (Note my photo)

NEWS DELAY – Marijuana legalization fight – CIA

CA legalization battle heats up

Ahead of state-wide vote, marijuana legalization battle heats up in CA

TOP STORIES

Did the CIA use Bybee memo for protection? from Firedoglake

The health bill is a bonanza for insurance industry by Bill Moyers

Key differences between progressive & liberal thinking by David Sirota

Germany to expand nuclear plant phase-out by 28 years from Al-Jazeera

WAR ZONES

McChrystal admits Afghan atrocities, press yawns by Allison Kilkenny

US casualties double in Afghanistan from Press TV

Obama declares Afghan war ‘absolutely essential’

Did Iraq just elect a mass-murderer? by Joshua Holland

BROADCASTING

Internet radio station makes leap to airwaves

WORT outreach coordinator directs a symphony of volunteers

Is there too much marijuana on prime time TV? from NORML

Planning a new station or relocation? FCC clarifies transmitter site rules

NEWS DELAY – War on WikiLeaks – NPR misleads

No mail on Saturday? Americans say OK

No mail on Saturday? Americans say OK from True/Slant

TOP STORIES

Van Jones: ‘I feel like I’m just getting started’ from Grist

Civil rights & media justice from Prometheus Radio

Ian Tomlinson family waits for answers one year after G20 protests

Indebted UC students: Put down the soy lattes by Allison Kilkenny

FREE PRESS

The war on WikiLeaks and why it matters by Glenn Greenwald

Wikipedia to undergo fundamental changes in April

1 in 4 kids aged 8-12 on Facebook despite age restrictions

Google goes it alone in China censorship fight

GEEKY TECH

Digital divide will ensure a broadband ghetto from GigaOm

Blair Levin: Reclaiming spectrum puts FCC on ‘right side’ of history

New RFID tag could mean the end of bar codes from Wired

Why isn’t my house out-thinking my dog yet? from Wired

TRULY GREEN

Conservation icon Stewart Udall dies from New West

Climate bill could face threats from the left from The Hill

Sen. Tom Udall’s goal: ’10 Republicans on the climate bill’ from Grist

Van Jones: Clean energy ‘will be increasingly safe political ground for both parties’

HEALTHY THINKING

Not feeling well? Perhaps you’re marijuana deficient by Paul Armentano

In drug war, failed old ideas never die by Bernd Debusmann

Ask Umbra chews the fat with Moby about his new book Gristle

Celebrities climb Kilimanjaro to awaken world to water crisis from Treehugger

POLITICS USA

Court strikes limits on contributions to independent political groups

The horrible prospect of Supreme Court Justice Cass Sunstein

Tea Party harbors a dwindling, confused demographic by Allison Kilkenny

Will Greenwald be labeled a ‘terrorist’ and assassinated? from Antiwar Radio

RIGHT WING

How a visionary author became a target of right-wing conspiracy theory

The banishment of David Frum: The revolution devours its children

Where were all these ‘freedom-loving’ right wingers during the Bush years?

Michael Chertoff joins defense firm that defrauded the US government

CORPORATE POWER

Clear Channel spent $1.6M lobbying Congress & FCC in 2nd half of 2009

Chomsky: Popular outrage not challenging corporate power from In These Times

Viva la student revolution: Part of reform corporations couldn’t buy

Afghanistan spy contract goes sour for Pentagon from CorpWatch

MIDDLE EAST

US intent on dragging Israel to negotiating table from Electronic Intifada

Chomsky: Obama spat over Netanyahu’s ‘insulting manner, not settlements’

NPR misleads and misinforms on East Jerusalem from Mondo Weiss

KBR mechanics worked as little as 43 minutes per month by John Byrne

NEWS DELAY – Radio stories from March

Prometheus takes the show on the road

LPFM strategies across the South from Prometheus Radio

Exploring the power of participatory radio in the Deep South

Raleigh’s racist radio from No Warning Shots Fired

Baton Rough Progressive Network gets their radio license back

LPFM: Light at the end of the tunnel? from Reclaim the Media

LPFM bill poised for passage from Prometheus Radio

KYRS children’s program wins Chase Youth award

Building hope from outside in, reaching inmates through the airwaves

The spectrum buy back plan and radio from Inside Music Media

CRB approves settlement for royalty rates for ‘new subscription services’

Broadcasters enter into consent decrees for fines on public inspection files

The time to rethink your spot load is now from Ross on Radio

Political pundit David Pakman, age 25, has 65 affiliates for his radio show

News gathered during my SXSW trip

Video proves Kanye West was right about George W. Bush

OBAMA

President signs health care bill, with a flourish by NY Times

Obama Inc. triumphs: Kucinich folds his hands on health care

Obama advances nuclear resurgence with US loan guarantees from CS Monitor

Obama: Inside man for the greatest heist in history from Black Agenda Report

Should Obama control the Internet? from Mother Jones

BROADBAND

Who will defend the rights of people of color on the Internet? by Malkia Cyril

Race, immigration & the fight for an Open Internet from Making Contact

Broadband plan’s price tag: $20M from The Hill

House passes cyber security from NY Times

Why ‘TV Everywhere’ will fail from PBS Media Shift

JOURNALISM

The collapse of journalism, the journalism of collapse by Robert Jensen

Corporation for Public Broadcasting launches new local journalism initiative

How is Seattle P-I doing, one year later? from Poynter

An e-model for journalism in Seattle, the P-I celebrates 1 year online-only

New media ventures blossom in Seattle

SpokesBuzz radio special

My half-hour special on one of the most fun events of SXSW 2010 aired today on KRFC community radio. SpokesBuzz was a showcase for 6 bands from Fort Collins, CO and was a huge success in terms of audience and exposure.

Candy Claws kids don matching bandanas

I interviewed a bunch of musicians including Shane from Wire Faces, the dudes from The Northern Way, Elena from Fierce Bad Rabbit, and a bunch of kids from Candy Claws. You’ll also hear SpokesBUZZ creator Dani Grant and the guys behind Project Save Rock & Roll – Bruce and JB.

Download or stream THIS FILE.

Goodbye Austin, I loved the food

I’m sad to report that today is my last day in Austin. They have been a fattening two weeks, and unfortunately some of the best food I ate was not photographed. I neglected to take pictures of the Spicy Bleu Burger and Goat Cheese Salad from Alamo Drafthouse, the Tinga Nachos at La Condesa, the Green Chili Queso from Torchy’s Tacos and the tasty late night eats from 24, Magnolia and even Taco Cabana. I did get some good food photos, and they’re all here. Enjoy. I did!

Brisket at Ruby's BBQ

Ruby's BBQ talks smack

The pits at Ruby's BBQ

The beef at Ruby's BBQ

Brisket taco at Serrano's

Fish tacos at Serrano's

Beef tacos from Serranos

Blood Orange meringue pie from The Highball

Stories I published Sunday on Raw Story

The big story Sunday was of course the passage of health insurance reform in Congress. However my shift was over before the big vote. So these are stories from Sunday morning.

Karl Rove’s meltdown on ABC Sunday morning drew a lot of attention.

Republican leaders insisted on NBC that the racist and homophobic taunts by protesters at the Capitol on Saturday were isolated.

And, not that it matters now, Debbie Wasserman Schultz told CNN “we’ve got the votes.”