Negotiations between Apple Records, The Beatles, and Apple’s iTunes have been ongoing since the day iTunes opened its digital doors. More than once, over the years, rumors were rampant that a deal was imminent, only to learn that talks had once again fallen apart.
Author Archives: David
Veterans Don’t Need Our Flag Waving
This country loves to “honor” its fighting men and women. But ask any veteran who has returned with severe emotional, mental, or physical problems, and they will tell you that the glory and adulation ring false in the face of inability to find help for their struggles in an increasingly underfunded and understaffed veteran’s health system.
8 Conservative Lies Debunked
From Alternet.org by Dave Johnson There are a number things the public “knows” as we head into the election that are simply untrue. If people elect leaders based on false information, the things those leaders do in office will not be what the public expects or needs. Here are eight of the biggest myths that …
It Has to Work This Time. Right?
A dysfunctional political system is one that knows the right answers but can’t even discuss them rationally, let alone act on them, and one that devotes vastly more attention to cable TV preachers than to recommendations by its best scientists and engineers.
What If A President Cut Taxes And No One Noticed?
The Republicans run a better theater – told us LOUDLY in 2003 we were getting a refund, let us anticipate it for 3 -4 months, made sure when it came that it had George W. Bush’s name written all over it. The Democrats just don’t get the show business of politics.
The Tea Party Juggernaut Rolls On
In the Tea Party narrative, victory at the polls means a new American revolution, one that will “take our country back” from everyone they disapprove of. But what they don’t realize is, there’s a catch: This is America, and we have an entrenched oligarchical system in place that insulates us all from any meaningful political change.
I Am Humbled
The emails, the Facebook posts, the private messages – the outpouring of kindness, good wishes, and even excitement over the release of Dear Austin – A Letter To My Son in paperback and digital editions has taken me somewhat by surprise.
California Schools – The Beatdown Goes On
Hot for Teachers w/ Megan Fox and Brian Austin Green from Megan Fox
Teachers! Who Needs ‘Em?
All we really need is the right test. Right? If we could just find that one magic (standardized) test, teaching could be completely automated. Done by computers. We could set up classrooms with 30 (or 50) computer terminals and one IT guy. Then, my friends, you could just stand back and watch the learnin’ begin!
Texans Take Note – News From The Outside World
I know Texans don’t generally give a crap about what the rest of the country, or the world for that matter, thinks about us. But this time, they’re laughing at us and they’re a little bit spooked by us at the same time. And they’re not wrong. We might wanna take a few notes this time. Below, a few observations by SF Gate columnist, Mark Morford. You know, San Francisco, where all those crazy hippies live.
Texans – Take Back Your Schools
Even though I still consider myself a Texan, I don’t live there anymore. I certainly don’t have any children in Texas schools, so how and what the Texas Board of Education decides to teach the children of their state really shouldn’t concern me. It shouldn’t. But it does.
Be Kinder Than Necessary
“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.” It’s a great quote, but it’s unclear who said it. It actually seems to be an amalgamation of two separate quotations. Author James M. Barrie, of Peter Pan fame, said “Be kinder than necessary.” But his advice stops there. Plato is …
Echoes of Oklahoma City 1995
My dear friend Peggy, a fellow Texan, sent this to me today. I think it offers a lot to think about and, as you know, The New York Times suffers from very poor circulation so I thought I’d lend them the weight and influence of my blog. Thank you, Peggy. The Axis of the Obsessed …
Tax and Spend Democrats! Oh, Wait.
Here’s An Interesting Chart It tracks U.S. Government revenue increases against U.S. Government spending increases going back through eight presidents. As you can see, the light blue bar represents the increase in revenue, and the dark blue bar represents the increase in spending by the U.S. Government during the tenure of each president. The last …
Republicans Quietly Scramble for Stimulus Cash
From Daily Kos Washington Times: GOP lawmakers privately admit stimulus created jobs by Jed Lewison Tue Feb 09, 2010 at 08:42:03 AM PST If there’s one thing that unites the Republican Party it’s that the stimulus bill was a job-killing piece of legislation that was the worst thing in the whole entire world for the …
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Fat, Dumb, and Not So Happy
After my annual physical, a little over a year ago, I was told that I needed to lose some weight and lower my blood glucose level. I was informed that I had slightly elevated blood sugar and my doctor warned that, if I ignored it and it continued to rise, it could grow up to …
Masterful Performances Freshen a Familiar Tune
Okay, stop me if you’ve heard this one. A broken down, burned out, booze-pickled, emotionally incapacitated country music legend swerves across the Southwestern U.S. in a prehistoric GMC Suburban (I think) playing one-night-stands in gloomy bars and bowling alleys, while steering his life directly for a cliff, where he is apparently content to fly off …
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History For Those On The Run
The following video, from Newsweek, covers the highlights and lowlights of the first decade of the 21st Century in just 7 minutes. It’s not quite Cliff’s Notes, but it’ll do. It may be preceded by a 30 second commercial. But then, what isn’t? Enjoy.
Happy Thanksgiving
May you be blessed with friends, and family, and good food and drink. May you have a warm and safe place to enjoy them all. May your team win, and may there be a “friend” to whom you can gloat. May you reconnect with someone you’ve missed. May you miss someone who’s gone. May you take a moment to know how blessed you are, and take another to help someone who’s not. May you have a joyful and heartfelt and glorious Thanksgiving.
A Disturbing, Powerful, Starkly Emotional Surprise!
I am almost at a loss for words to describe the film Precious, except in one and two word gasps. It is the most disturbing and emotional film experience I’ve had in recent memory. But it is, ultimately, inspiring as well. Not in a feel-good Rocky kind of way, but in a more sober, realistic, …
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