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 evenings music features Stevie Ray Vaughn and some others following up on some recent requests. Enjoy!
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Texas Flood
“Some people won't be happy until they've pushed you to the ground. What you have to do is have the courage to stand your ground and not give them the time of day. Hold on to your power and never give it away.”
-- Donna Schoenrock
News and Opinion
So-Called Fiscal Cliff Averted as Congress Begins New Fight over Spending on Social Welfare Programs
This is the sound of Peter King's ox being gored. It's sad what happens when a bastard discovers that all of his best friends are bastards, too.
Peter King near tears, threatens to quit Republican Party for blocking Sandy relief
Republican New York Congressman Peter King was near tears on Wednesday as he threatened to leave the Republican Party, while excoriating the leadership and other members after they reversed course and refused to pass a relief package for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
In an emotional interview with CNN, King pointed a finger directly at House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) for the failure to bring Sandy aid up for a vote after passing a bill to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.
“Boehner is the one,” the New York Republican explained. “He walked off the floor. He refused to tell us why. He refused to give us any indication or warning whatsoever… I’m just saying, these people have no problem finding New York — these Republicans — when they’re trying to raise money. They raise millions of dollars in New York City and New Jersey, they sent Gov. [Chris] Christie around the country raising millions of dollars for them. I’m saying, anyone from New York and New Jersey who contributes one penny to the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee should have their head examined. I would not give one penny to these people based on what they did to us last night.”
Stop Being a Dick, US Government!
Christie: Boehner ignored multiple phone calls on Sandy relief funds
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Wednesday that House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) ignored multiple calls on Tuesday, even as the governor was hoping to convey the urgency of a now-delayed vote on funding for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts.
“Last night, the House Majority failed most the basic test of leadership and they did so with callous disregard to the people of my state,” Christie said at a news conference on Wednesday. “It was disappointing and disgusting to watch.”
Although he avoided saying directly that Republicans in Congress were to blame for the House’s failure to vote on Sandy relief funds, Christie added: “Last night, my party was responsible.”
After four attempts to call Boehner and ask why the vote was being delayed, Christie said he heard nothing back until Wednesday morning. “I won’t get into my conversation with [Boehner],” he said. “But I will tell you, there is no reason to believe anything the tell me.”
Will 350.org Fossil Fuel Divestment Campaign Be Key Tactic in 2013 Battle over Climate Change?
Shell Runs Its Arctic Drilling Rig Aground; Coast Guard Prepares For ‘Possible Spill-Response’
It appears 2013 will begin much like 2012 ended for Shell’s Arctic Ocean drilling efforts – with yet another mishap.
After several failed attempts to secure the equipment in harsh weather, Shell’s enormous Kulluk drilling rig ran aground near Kodiak Island, Alaska late Monday night. With approximately 143,000 gallons of fuel and 12,000 gallons of lubricating oil and hydraulic fluid on board, the Coast Guard is now preparing for the “salvage and possible spill-response phase of this event.” Two Coast Guard flyovers on Tuesday did not detect any leakage but a severe winter storm – with winds up to 70 mph and waves as high as 50 feet – has prevented crews from conducting a full assessment of the damage.
After an initial exploratory drilling season plagued with technical failures, struggles with Mother Nature, and numerous warnings about the lack of preparedness to operate in the region, the oil company’s woes have only continued. In November, the challenging and unpredictable Arctic conditions created a logistical nightmare as Shell struggled to get the Kulluk out of the Beaufort Sea as winter sea ice encroached.
Philip Pilkington: The New York Times’ Bizarre and Misleading Praise of Austerity Poster Child Latvia
So, what on earth is going on here? Why is he even writing this stuff? What is the point? He doesn’t come across as particularly austere and right-wing and his style is all “human suffering narrative” as one would expect from the left-of-centre NYT.
Again, the clue is in the language itself. Editors know what people are looking for around this time of year. It’s January 1st, a New Year and many of us are looking forward to shedding past discomforts and embracing new opportunities. The Latvia austerity narrative plays into the former and makes the latter look all the more appealing. We can, in a strong sense, identify with the man who hauls logs to save his suffering child in that all of us have been through hardship and come out the other side.
There’s nothing wrong with this, of course; we all need our fictions. But it is rather primitive. We’re not talking about individual suffering here. We’re talking about the economic management of a country. Latvia has entered a terrible place. It has become a focal point of Westerners’ fantasies and dreams; a place where we project our own economic troubles and rationalise the stupid and pointless policies being enacted by our governments. It has become the embodiment of all the economic pain that we now suffer. To impose this on another, to wrap them so tightly in our own illusions is a terrible thing indeed. As the French philosopher Gilles Deleuze once said “if you’re trapped in the dream of the Other, you’re fucked”.
A ‘Manufactured Non-Solution’ to a ‘Manufactured’ Crisis (Video)
“The result: the new fiscal cliff will have even higher stakes,” Moore writes, “as the U.S. could spend the next two months wrestling with even greater potential economic disaster, and a more dire impact on the markets. Now, it’s not just some spending cuts that are on the table; it’s the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.”
Blog Posts of Interest
Here are diaries and selected blog posts of interest on DailyKos and other blogs.
What's Happenin'
A Little Night Music
Larry Davis - Texas Flood
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride And Joy
The Red Devils - Automatic
Steve Ray Vaughan w/Albert and BB King - The Sky is Crying
Elmore James - The Sky is Crying
Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble - Cold Shot
Stevie Ray Vaughan - Hideaway + Rude Mood
Freddie King - Hideaway
LouAnn Barton with Preston Hubbard - Good Lover
LouAnn Barton w/ Stevie Ray Vaughn - Ti Ni Nee Ni Nu
Otis Rush & Derek O'Brien - Double Trouble
Fabulous Thunderbirds - Tuff Enuf
Remember when progressive debate was about our values and not about a "progressive" candidate? Remember when progressive websites championed progressive values and didn't tell progressives to shut up about values so that "progressive" candidates can get elected?
Come to where the debate is not constrained by oaths of fealty to persons or parties.
Come to where the pie is served in a variety of flavors.
"The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum." ~ Noam Chomsky
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