This from Mr. Gilliard

via Driftglass from Steve: It’s not true that the Conservatives I know don’t give a damn so much as they are terrified that they were wrong. Deeply, primally terrified. Their whole psychological infrastructure is cobbled together out of half-baked conservative bumper-sticker ideology, gun lust, socially illiterate hatred of “welfare cheats” and other largely fictional or apocryphal lazy people (read: niggers and other swarthy folk) who want to leech off of them while they work harder and harder for less and less.

Despite a lot of bluster about Freedom and Individuality they are, at heart, happiest when they are conforming to the wishes of the Strong Man; when they know exactly their place in the hierarchy...read on

For the 3rd anniversary of the Iraq War-Rally with legislators, labor, community and faith-based groups; Gospel, Rap, Folk and Theater-Go to the Old State House, 800 Main St., Hartford, 2:00 PM -

Tell Senator Lieberman, "Connecticut Opposes the War!" He Should Too!

Click here to see the pdf of the flyer.

There's always Ned Lamont.Donate here.

Get along home, Cindy.

Nick Reynolds, a founding member of the Kingston Trio who jump-started the revival folk scene of the late 1950s and paved the way for artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, has died. He was 75.

[image from The Museum of Pop Culture blog] With lots of "concerned" folk turning from The New York Times Book Review to worry about the NEA report on the continued demise of reading, I have two questions:

1. What are C&L readers (oh there's that word again) reading these days, or planning to read in the coming year?
2. Do Spiderman Trivia Pringles Potato Chips count?

And it's an open thread, too, so if you're totally anti-reading you can just write something instead...

TS here. Goodbye, you Princes of Maine, you Kings of New England! And a genuine thanks for all comments and tips, and -- most especially -- your tolerance. Anyway, here are a few keepers from round the Internetz.

“Around 1994, someone called me up to complain about being the victim of a stock fraud. Since representing such folk is my business, I asked him who he wanted to sue. He said he didn't know anyone's name. He explained there was this place called the "internet' where people promoted stocks. The client apparently wanted to sue the internet, or possibly usenet, itself.” -- Arthur

“What I do remember about the Bork hearings, since I was an adult at the time and not a doughy adolescent dreaming of icing those cinnamon buns on either side of Princess Leia's head, is that Bork was forced under oath to allow for "organic development" of that Constitutional text he insisted was inviolate, thereby giving up the game, something the last twenty years of utter failure to redefine the concept into something workable has double underlined.” – Doghouse Riley

“For all Bush has done right, tax cuts, Afghanistan, Iraq, Roberts and Alito, torturing Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, etc., his lack of discipline on domestic spending, especially the Medicare boondoggle are going to be a black mark on his presidency. Well, at least he tortured that guy. Nobody can take that away from him.” – Belle Waring

“All that work by those staff writers to advocate invading Iraq and Iran and now all they have to show for it is 3,800 dead Americans in Iraq rather than the key to the executive pisser.” -- Clif

“Heck, I didn't even know there was mule racing!” – John Hawks

“Guys, I don’t know what conservatarians did to you in your past, but clearly it’s affected you. I suggest yoga or tai chi or something. If that doesn’t work, go find a self-described “libertarian” blog where torture and detention without trial is enthusiastically supported, and go vent at them. But this isn’t one of those blogs.” -- Thoreau

You can get me at instaputzen [at] gmail [dot com].

This interview is one of the reasons why America is so uninformed about serious issues in our country. Kyra Phillips is really engaged in the Utah mining disaster and has a genuine passion about the story, but instead of asking the real questions to Murray about the dangerous mining conditions he promoted after he denied them---she treated him like a folk hero. The Huffington Post has more...

Download | play Download | play

Murray: A rumor was started by the United Mine Workers. It's false statements they have made. False statements from the beginning. But I've watched them for 50 years and they have preyed on the tragedy of miners and their families to put out false information to organize their union.

Murray always has the time to bash the United Mine Workers as much as he can and then he praises CNN for the wonderful job they are doing.

Again, why was this not included in CNN's coverage?

Robert Murray insists that his company did not change the mining plan at Crandall Canyon after purchasing a joint interest in the mine last August. But documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune clearly contradict Murray's assertion, and show that Murray's company sought and received approval from federal regulators to make a significant, and, experts say, risky change to the mining strategy...read on

Isn't that more important than trying to defend your coverage? I understand that there is great suffering in the lives of the families that have to deal with this nightmare and our hearts reach out to them, but when are we supposed to have serious conversations on serious issues?

Continue reading »

During Graham's speech, Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Bomgardner left her husband's confirmation hearings in tears, returning not long after.

Download | play WMP Download | play -QT (hat tip Ian Schwartz)

Anyone notice that Lindsey Graham seems to always be involved in something?

Wolcott: "If Alito is confirmed, Mrs. Alito and Judge Clarence Thomas's wife can commisserate by exchanging monogrammed crying towels as their men folk roll back women's rights and civil liberties and go duck hunting weekends with Scalia."