Welcome! "The Evening Blues" is a casual community diary (published Monday - Friday, 8:00 PM Eastern) where we hang out, share and talk about news, music, photography and other things of interest to the community.
Just about anything goes, but attacks and pie fights are not welcome here. This is a community diary and a friendly, peaceful, supportive place for people to interact.
Everyone who wants to join in peaceful interaction is very welcome here.
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Hey! Good Evening!
This evening's music was provided by guest dj Johnny the Conqueroo. Here's his intro:
You've heard of Delta blues, Texas blues, Kansas City blues, Chicago blues, Detroit blues, Memphis blues, Louisiana blues, West Coast blues, city blues, country blues, jump blues, hokum blues, swamp blues, and all the other blues that engender the genre. Tonight we'll take a look at the Appalachian blues. The "mountain cousin" of the Delta blues, Appalachian blues bears the stamp of a distinctive regional blend of European and African styles and sounds born at the cultural crossroads of railroad camps, mines, and rural settlements.
Enjoy!
J. C. Burris - Highway Blues
"Plenty of rich folks want to fight. Give them the guns."
-- Woody Guthrie
News and Opinion
Rep. Alan Grayson on Syria: Congress Should Reject "Warmongering" and Focus on Problems at Home
Kerry: "Good news!
Syrian war will pay for itself!!! Bandar Bush wants to rent our military and pay for the whole shooting match!"
Kerry: Arab countries offered to pay for invasion
Secretary of State John Kerry said at Wednesday’s hearing that Arab counties have offered to pay for the entirety of unseating President Bashar al-Assad if the United States took the lead militarily.
“With respect to Arab countries offering to bear costs and to assess, the answer is profoundly yes,” Kerry said. “They have. That offer is on the table.”
Asked by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) about how much those countries would contribute, Kerry said they have offered to pay for all of a full invasion.
This Is War and Why John Kerry’s Rhetoric Isn’t Convincing
[John "How do you ask a man to be the first to die for a mistake" Kerry says...]
“We don’t want to go to war in Syria either. It is not what we are here to ask. The president is not asking you to go to war.”
On its face, Kerry’s statement is incoherent. “War,” wrote Carl von Clausewitz, “is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale.” It is “an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfill our will.” By that classic, and noncontroversial, definition, what the Obama administration is contemplating in Syria is absolutely war. If it wins congressional authorization (and perhaps even if it doesn’t), the United States will reportedly strike Syria with Tomahawk missiles launched from destroyers and submarines in the Mediterranean Sea. Each Tomahawk carries a single 1,000-pound bomb or 166 smaller cluster bombs. ...
The United States is reportedly considering launching several hundred Tomahawk missiles against various Syrian military units and installations. Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has acknowledged that “there is a probability for collateral damage.” The Obama administration, in other words, is planning to kill and maim an unspecified number of Syrians in order to deter Bashir al-Assad from again using chemical weapons or to uphold the credibility of a potential American military strike against Iran. That’s war.
So how can Kerry say it’s not? Because the ships launching the Tomahawks will be far from Syria, and thus apparently impervious to Syrian retaliation. War, in other words, is what happens when other nations kill Americans, not the other way around.
Lessons from Today’s Senate Hearing on Syria
John Kerry twice said that if we don’t bomb Assad we’ll lose friends and/or allies. ”If we fail to act we’ll have fewer allies.”
That admitted something that has been acknowledged — usually not in print — in DC. We’re doing this not to retain our general credibility, but to retain “credibility” with Saudi Arabia and Israel. ...
Kerry and Obama have both said these attacks will be limited and don’t aim to oust Assad. But it became clear over the course of the hearing (as witnesses tried to balance those, like McCain and Ron Johnson, who wanted more war, and those, like Tom Udall, who wanted limits) that in addition to this strike there’s the pre-existing policy of increasing our support to the rebels, effectively to oust Assad. So while this strike is not about regime change, it exists on top of a strategy that is about regime change. ...
Both Menendez and Kerry both claimed we have evidence beyond a reasonable doubt against Assad. Kerry even noted that’s the standard we use to send people away to prison.
Neither one, of course, explained why we weren’t referring (or trying to — it would take a Security Council referral) Assad’s crimes to the International Criminal Court.
John Kerry's Very Precise Death Toll: Where Does It Come From?
When the PBS NewsHour covered John Kerry's dramatic presentation on the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria on August 21, reporter Jeffrey Brown (8/30/13) zeroed in on the death toll:
KERRY: The United States government now knows that at least 1,429 Syrians were killed in this attack, including at least 426 children.
BROWN: The chilling numbers stood out from the U.S. intelligence assessment released this afternoon. And, lest anyone doubt, the secretary of State insisted, its findings are as clear as they are compelling.
But where does that number come from–and why is substantially higher than other estimates? As the AP reported:
But the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an organization that monitors casualties in the country, said it has confirmed 502 deaths, nearly 1,000 fewer than the American intelligence assessment claimed.
Rami Abdel-Rahman, the head of the organization, said he was not contacted by U.S. officials about his efforts to collect information about the death toll.
"America works only with one part of the opposition that is deep in propaganda," he said, and urged the Obama administration to release the information its estimate is based on.
US, the Biggest User of Chemical Weapons in History Asserts "Right To Protect" Syria
From 1961 to 1972 the US military executed the biggest and deadliest chemical warfare operation in history. It was Operation Trail Dust, in which more than 20 million thousands of tons of blended dioxon and other poisons, the most famous known as Agent Orange, were sprayed across 10% of the land area of South Vietnam, along with big tracts of Laos and Cambodia. ...
During the 1980s Iran-Iraq war the Pentagon provided Saddam Hussein with satellite intelligence so he'd know where to fire his nerve gas at Iranian troop concentrations.
In its two Gulf Wars, the US littered Kuwait and Iraq with radioactive depleted uranium munitions ...
There are treaties banning chemical weapons, but none of them authorize any nation to launch “preventive” or punitive strikes against those who do. Most Arabs, most of the world knows this history, and so do more than a few Americans, including much of the so-called left.
The foremost practicioner of chemical warfare in human history is about to bomb a country one-fifteenth its size, for its alleged use of chemical weapons. If the Bush-Cheney gang were still in power, we might see Melissa Harris-Perry and Rachel Maddow reminding us of this awful record. But there's a Democrat in the White House, so the hypocrisy detectors have been turned off and the history teachers silenced.
How the U.S. Left is Failing Over Syria
If Obama wages an aggressive attack on Syria — especially without UN authorization — he’ll be committing a major international crime that will, by any standard, make him a war criminal, just like Bush before him.
And because Obama’s attack on Syria followed Bush’s logic, you’d assume that liberal, progressive, and other Left groups would do what they did when Bush went to war: denounce it unconditionally and organize against it.
But that’s not what happened. Because this didn’t happen, less accurate information was made available to the public, and fewer public mobilizations have occurred, thus re-enforcing Obama’s ability to wage an aggressive war.
There are four pieces of information that all left groups have a duty to report about Syria, but they have either ignored or minimized:
1) Obama presented zero evidence to back up his main justification for war: that the Syrian Government used chemical weapons against civilians.
2) A top UN investigator, Carla Del Ponte, blamed a previous chemical weapons attack on the U.S.-backed rebels.
3) Any attack on Syria, no matter how “limited,” has a high risk of expanding into neighboring countries if Syria exercises its right as a sovereign nation to defend itself.
4) A war against Syria will be a violation of international law, since it is not approved by the UN, and therefore will make President Obama a war criminal.
Syria Crisis Serves Fear-Mongering Inside Israel
UN accuses Syrian rebels of carrying out sarin gas attacks which had been blamed on Assad's troops
A senior United Nations official has claimed that Syrian rebels may have used chemical weapons against government forces.
Carla Del Ponte said evidence from casualties and medical staff indicated that rebel forces in the civil war had used the deadly nerve agent sarin.
‘Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals, and there are strong, concrete suspicions, but not yet incontrovertible proof, of the use of sarin gas,’ said Del Ponte in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.
‘This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities.’
Response to the US administration and other governments referring to MSF Statement of August 24
Over the last two days, the US Administration and other governmental authorities have referred to reports from several agencies, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), while stating that the use of chemical weapons in Syria was “undeniable” and to designate the perpetrators. MSF today warned that its medical information could not be used as evidence to certify the precise origin of the exposure to a neurotoxic agent nor to attribute responsibility.
Last Saturday, MSF said that three hospitals it supports in Syria’s Damascus governorate had reportedly received 3,600 patients displaying neurotoxic symptoms, of which 355 died. Although our information indicates mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent, MSF clearly stated that scientific confirmation of the toxic agent was required and therefore an independent investigation was needed to shed light on what would constitute, if confirmed, a massive and unacceptable violation of international humanitarian law. MSF also stated that in its role as a medical humanitarian organisation, it was not in a position to determine responsibility for the event.
Now that an investigation is underway by UN inspectors, MSF rejects that our statement be used as a substitute for the investigation or as a justification for military action.
Russia releases key findings on chemical attack near Aleppo indicating similarity with rebel-made weapons
Probes from Khan al-Assal show chemicals used in the March 19 attack did not belong to standard Syrian army ammunition, and that the shell carrying the substance was similar to those made by a rebel fighter group, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated.
A statement released by the ministry on Wednesday particularly drew attention to the “massive stove-piping of various information aimed at placing the responsibility for the alleged chemical weapons use in Syria on Damascus, even though the results of the UN investigation have not yet been revealed.”
By such means “the way is being paved for military action” against Damascus, the ministry pointed out.
But the samples taken at the site of the March 19 attack and analyzed by Russian experts indicate that a projectile carrying the deadly nerve agent sarin was most likely fired at Khan al-Assal by the rebels, the ministry statement suggests, outlining the 100-page report handed over to the UN by Russia.
US Military Contractors Celebrate Record High Profits and Stock Prices
Are Democrat Lawmakers Immune to Public's Growing Anti-War Outcry?
As anti-war voices try to galvanize their efforts to stop the Obama administration's push for war in Syria, the tenor in Congress so far shows little sign—most strikingly among the president's fellow Democrats—that the public opposition to a possible war is getting through to lawmakers.
As the second day of congressional hearings came to a close Wednesday, the level of opposition from members of Obama's party was weak at best, with most members providing conciliatory statements on administration intelligence claims and few choosing to raise the critical questions circulating among policy experts and progressive coalitions.
This seeming acquiescence in Congress comes as poll after poll (after poll) shows U.S. public opinion firmly against a U.S. war in Syria.
Bernie: Who Pays?
The Austerian Mask Slips
Many of us have argued repeatedly that the push for austerity was, for many, nothing more than a means of achieving the ideological goal of a smaller government, hence the opposition to increases in taxes to solve the budget problem and the insistence that it come trhough spending cuts. Paul Krugman highlights evidence that this is true:
The Austerian Mask Slips: Simon Wren-Lewis looks at France, and finds that it is engaging in a lot of fiscal austerity — far more than makes sense given the macroeconomic situation. He notes, however, that France has eliminated its structural primary deficit mainly by raising taxes rather than by cutting spending.
And Olli Rehn [European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro and vice president of the European Commission] — who should be praising the French for their fiscal responsibility, their willingness to defy textbook macroeconomics in favor of the austerity gospel — is furious, declaring that fiscal restraint must come through spending cuts. ...
Rehn has let the mask slip. It’s not about fiscal responsibility; it never was. It was always about using hyperbole about the dangers of debt to dismantle the welfare state. How dare the French take the alleged worries about the deficit literally, while declining to remake their society along neoliberal lines?
Brazilian lawmakers call for police protection of Glenn Greenwald and his partner
Lawmakers in Brazil have asked that American journalist Glenn Greenwald and his partner David Miranda receive protection from federal police, due to the importance of their testimony regarding an ongoing investigation of US spying practices.
On Tuesday, the Brazilian Senate began an official investigation into allegations that the National Security Agency (NSA) had been surveilling the country and even intercepted personal emails sent by President Dilma Rousseff. ...
During its first meeting on the NSA scandal, Brazil’s Parliamentary Inquiry Commission approved an application for police protection of Greenwald and Miranda.
'Russia's only choice is to permit Snowden to live here' - Putin
Manning seeks U.S. presidential pardon in leaks case
U.S. soldier Chelsea Manning is seeking a presidential pardon for sending classified information to WikiLeaks, which she says she did "out of a love for my country and sense of duty to others," according to documents released Wednesday. ...
The White House said last month that any Manning request for a presidential pardon would be considered like any other. ...
Coombs wrote in a cover letter to Manning's petition that none of Manning's disclosures caused any "real damage" to the United States and that the documents were not sensitive information meriting protection.
Documents submitted in support of Manning's petition include a letter from Amnesty International, which said the leaks exposed potential human rights violations.
WikiLeaks releases documents on global surveillance industry
WikiLeaks has stepped up its campaign to expose the global surveillance industry with the release of a new collection of sensitive documents from private intelligence and information technology companies.
The transparency group has published 294 documents from 92 contractor firms providing surveillance and intelligence technology to governments around the world.
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange said "Spy Files 3", the third tranche of documents released on the subject, was part of his organisation's "ongoing commitment to shining a light on the secretive mass surveillance industry".
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"The files form a valuable resource for journalists and citizens alike, detailing and explaining how secretive state intelligence agencies are merging with the corporate world in their bid to harvest all human electronic communication," he said. ...
The WikiLeaks release shows internet spying capabilities now being sold on the intelligence market include detecting encrypted and obfuscated internet usage such as Skype, BitTorrent, VPN, SSH and SSL. The documents also reveal how contractors work with intelligence and police agencies to obtain decryption keys.
The documents detail bulk interception methods for voice, SMS, MMS, email, fax and satellite phone communications. The released documents also show intelligence contractors are selling capabilities to analyse web and mobile interceptions in real-time.
Patriot Act author says NSA’s bulk data collection is “unbounded in its scope”
In one of the most prominent legal challenges to government intelligence gathering since the Edward Snowden disclosures, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit against four top Obama Administration officials. The case, known as ACLU v. Clapper, asks a federal judge to declare the entire metadata sharing program unlawful, halt it, and purge all related records.
On Thursday, Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), with representation from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), filed an amicus brief with the court. He noted that the vast data handover is not at all what Congress intended to happen. And Sensenbrenner should know, too, because he authored the Patriot Act in October 2001 and supported its subsequent reauthorizations. In particular, Section 215 of that law, which expanded government surveillance power of business records, is what the government argues gives it the authority to collect metadata in bulk.
Sensenbrenner writes:
The vast majority of the records collected will have no relation to the investigation of terrorism at all. This collection of millions of unrelated records is built-in to the mass call collection program. Defendants’ theory of “relevance” is simply beyond any reasonable understanding of the word. And it certainly is not what amicus intended the word to mean. …
Defendants do not explain why Congress would have enacted such meaningless provisions. The bulk data collection program is unbounded in its scope. The NSA is gathering on a daily basis the details of every call that every American makes, as well as every call made by foreigners to or from the United States. How can every call that every American makes or receives be relevant to a specific investigation?
The Only Way to Restore Trust in the NSA
The NSA has repeatedly lied about the extent of its spying program. James R. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, has lied about it to Congress. Top-secret documents provided by Edward Snowden, and reported on by the Guardian and other newspapers, repeatedly show that the NSA's surveillance systems are monitoring the communications of American citizens. The DEA has used this information to apprehend drug smugglers, then lied about it in court. The IRS has used this information to find tax cheats, then lied about it. It's even been used to arrest a copyright violator. It seems that every time there is an allegation against the NSA, no matter how outlandish, it turns out to be true. ...
All of this denying and lying results in us not trusting anything the NSA says, anything the president says about the NSA, or anything companies say about their involvement with the NSA. We know secrecy corrupts, and we see that corruption. There's simply no credibility, and -- the real problem -- no way for us to verify anything these people might say. ...
It's time to start cleaning up this mess. We need a special prosecutor, one not tied to the military, the corporations complicit in these programs, or the current political leadership, whether Democrat or Republican. This prosecutor needs free rein to go through the NSA's files and discover the full extent of what the agency is doing, as well as enough technical staff who have the capability to understand it. He needs the power to subpoena government officials and take their sworn testimony. He needs the ability to bring criminal indictments where appropriate. And, of course, he needs the requisite security clearance to see it all. ...
The result needs to be a public report about the NSA's abuses, detailed enough that public watchdog groups can be convinced that everything is known. Only then can our country go about cleaning up the mess: shutting down programs, reforming the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act system, and reforming surveillance law to make it absolutely clear that even the NSA cannot eavesdrop on Americans without a warrant.
Judge’s Gag Order Cuts Off Press From Receiving Reports on Barrett Brown’s Case
A district court judge in Dallas, Texas, has issued an order prohibiting journalist and activist Barrett Brown and his defense team from discussing the case with the media. ...
As the Free Barrett Brown group highlights on its website, at stake is the right to link, because one of the offenses stems from Brown’s decision to share a link to something released online from the Stratfor emails. It also implicates the First Amendment, as Brown is charged with concealing information related to journalistic sources and his own work products. It also raises issues of press freedom and selective prosecution, since it appears that in the three indictments handed down against Brown the government is targeting him for daring to expose the operations of private security and intelligence companies.
District Court Judge Sam Lindsay’s order applies to Brown and all government and defense attorneys and any “employees, representatives or agents of such attorneys” and is intended to “remain in force during the pendency of these actions or until further order of this court.” (Currently, Brown’s trial is scheduled for the spring of next year.)
“No person covered by this order shall make any statement to member of any television, radio, newspaper, magazine, internet (including, but not limited to, bloggers), or other media organizations about this case, other than matters of public record, that could interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice Defendant, the Government or the administration of justice except that counsel for the Defendant may consult with Mr. Kevin Gallagher regarding the finances needed for Mr. Barrett Brown’s defense,” according to the order.
Action
The Evening Greens
The Real Reason Kansas Is Running Out of Water
Like dot-com moguls in the '90s and real estate gurus in the 2000s, farmers in western Kansas are enjoying the fruits of a bubble: Their crop yields have been boosted by a gusher of soon-to-vanish irrigation water. That's the message of a new study by Kansas State University researchers. Drawing down their region's groundwater at more than six times the natural rate of recharge, farmers there have managed to become so productive that the area boasts "the highest total market value of agriculture products" of any congressional district in the nation, the authors note. Those products are mainly beef fattened on large feedlots; and the corn used to fatten those beef cows.
But they're on the verge of essentially sucking dry a large swath of the High Plains Aquifer, one of the United States' greatest water resources. The researchers found that 30 percent of the region's groundwater has been tapped out, and if present trends continue, another 39 percent will be gone within 50 years. As the water stock dwindles, of course, pumping what's left gets more and more expensive—and farming becomes less profitable and ultimately uneconomical. But all isn't necessarily lost. The authors calculate that if the region's farmers can act collectively and cut their water use 20 percent now, their farms would produce less and generate lower profits in the short term, but could sustain corn and beef farming in the area into the next century.
Record Radiation Levels At Fukushima Nuclear Plant
Green Party reveals over $100 million federal spending supporting Enbridge tanker plans
“Documents obtained from Environment Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans reveal that at a time when core science is being cut across the Government of Canada, tax dollars are being spent to do Enbridge’s homework for them,” said Andrew Weaver.
The Federal Government is moving forward over the next two years with a $100 million plus, ‘Complementary Measures Project’ (now called ‘World Class’) to research and model the complex waterways in the Kitimat and Hecate Straights region. In essence this is a federal government subsidy to the Northern Gateway Project, as they are unable to satisfy basic safety, environmental and regulatory requirements. In fact documents from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans identified that: “Behaviour models specific to dilbit spills do not exist, and existing commercial models for conventional oil do not allow parameter specific modifications.”
On the federal level contrary to what Stephen Harper has said about awaiting the evidence and panel results, the Government of Canada has been pushing ahead with spending over $100 million to support what should be industry based research. This comes at a time of major cuts to science funding for climate change, marine contaminants and ELA.
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin'
Online Directory for the 113th Congress
Who Made the Sarin Used in Syria?
What Are the Big Factors Determining Whether Americans Support War?
A Little Night Music
J.C. Burris (Born - May 15, 1928 in Selby, NC--Died May 15, 1988 in Greensboro, NC) The nephew of Sonny Terry, Johnny "J.C." Burris was also a blues harmonica player, though he didn't record too much. He is noted for his use of African rhythm bones, two sticks played like castanets that can be played off the harmonica. A stroke in 1966 robbed him of his use of his right side. Several years later, he regained his mobility on his right side, and in 1973, he began performing again. He continued playing at schools, clubs, and festivals until his death in 1988.
My Baby's Gone - Sticks McGhee (With Sonny Terry and JC Burris)
Granville Henry McGhee, also known as Stick (or Sticks) McGhee, (March 23, 1917 – August 15, 1961) was an African-American jump blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, best known for his blues song, "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee". He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, and Granville received his nickname during the early years, when he was pushing his older brother, Brownie McGhee, who was stricken with polio in a wagon with a stick. McGhee died in The Bronx, New York, on August 15, 1961 of lung cancer, at the age of forty-four, and he left his old guitar to Brownie's son before he died.
Bill Williams - Don't Let Your Deal Go Down
Bill Williams (1898-1973) was born in Richmond, Virginia. A self-taught guitarist, he left to hobo across the country, teaming up with Blind Blake in Bristol, Tennessee in 1921. In 1922 he moved to Greenup, Kentucky, where he spent the rest of his life.
Pink Anderson - I Got Mine
Pinkney "Pink" Anderson (February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974). He was born in Laurens, South Carolina. He died in October 1974, of a heart attack at the age of 74. He is interred at Lincoln Memorial Gardens in Spartanburg. Anderson's son, known as Little Pink Anderson (b. July 13, 1954), is currently a bluesman living in Vermillion, South Dakota.
Carl Martin, Ted Bogan, & Tommy Armstrong - Hoodoo Blues
Carl Martin (April 1 or 15, 1906 – May 10, 1979) was an American Piedmont blues musician and vocalist, who was capable with a variety of instruments and musical styles.
Ted Bogan (1910-1990) came from Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he learned guitar from Pink Anderson and by watching other street musicians. He honed his craft working medicine shows and playing on the radio before coming to Knoxville to play with Roland and Carl Martin.
Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (March 4, 1909 – July 30, 2003) was an African American string band and country blues musician, who played fiddle, mandolin, and guitar and also sang. He was also a notable visual artist and raconteur.
Peg Leg Sam Jackson - Walking Cane
Peg Leg Sam (December 18, 1911 – October 27, 1977) was an American country blues harmonicist, singer and comedian. He recorded "Fox Chase" and "John Henry", and worked in medicine shows. He gained his nickname following an accident whilst hoboing in 1930. Born Arthur Jackson in Jonesville, South Carolina, United States, to David Jackson, a farmer and native of Virginia, and Emma Jackson. He died in Jonesville in October 1977, at the age of 65.
Roscoe Holcomb - Mississippi Heavy Water Blues
Roscoe Holcomb, (born as Roscoe Halcomb September 5, 1912 – died February 1, 1981) was an American singer, banjo player, and guitarist from Daisy, Kentucky. A prominent figure in Appalachian folk music, Holcomb was the inspiration for the term "high, lonesome sound," coined by folklorist and friend John Cohen. Suffering from asthma and emphysema as a result of working in coal mines, he died in 1981 at the age of 68.
Josh White - Outskirts of Town
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969), better known as Josh White, was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor, and civil rights activist. White grew up in the Jim Crow South. During the 1920s and 1930s, he became a prominent race records artist, with a prolific output of recordings in genres including Piedmont blues, country blues, gospel, and social protest songs. He died on the operating table during heart surgery on September 5, 1969 at the North Shore Hospital in Manhasset, New York.
John Jackson - Railroad Bill
John Jackson (February 24, 1924 – January 20, 2002)[1] was an American Piedmont blues musician; his music did not become primary until his accidental "discovery" by folklorist Chuck Perdue in the 1960s. He had effectively given up playing for his community in 1949. Born in John H Jackson in Woodville, Virginia, United States into a musical family, he learned to play as a boy before moving in his twenties to Fairfax. Jackson died in 2002 of liver cancer in Fairfax Station, Virginia, at the age of 77.
Etta Baker - One Dime Blues
Etta Baker (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. She was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell County, North Carolina, of African American, Native American, and European American heritage. She played both the 6-string and 12-string forms of the acoustic guitar, as well as the five-string banjo. Baker had nine children, one of whom was killed in the Vietnam War in 1967, the same year her husband died. She last lived in Morganton, North Carolina, and died at the age of 93 in Fairfax, Virginia, while visiting a daughter who had suffered a stroke.
It's National Pie Day!
The election is over, it's a new year and it's time to work on real change in new ways... and it's National Pie Day. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to tell you a little more about our new site and to start getting people signed up.
Come on over and sign up so that we can send you announcements about the site, the launch, and information about participating in our public beta testing.
Why is National Pie Day the perfect opportunity to tell you more about us? Well you'll see why very soon. So what are you waiting for?! Head on over now and be one of the first!
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