Today is a sad day for Deadheads like me. Twenty years ago today Brent Mydland died of a drug overdose at his home in California. Brent was an incredibly talented singer and keyboardist who brought a new sound and tons of energy to the band. I was a huge fan of his. I remember being especially sad when he died, and not just because we had tickets to see six shows at Boston Garden in September that year. I remember thinking mostly about all the songs he wrote about his two daughters. This photo is of Brent with one of his daughter at Shoreline Amphitheater in CA just one month before he died,
Now that I have kids the age his girls were when he passed, his death is all the more tragic. I’ve touched on this before, here. His friend and songwriting partner John Perry Barlow tweeted this last year on the anniversary of his death,
“One of these days I’m gonna pull myself together, soon as finish tearing myself apart.â€
I wrote that line for Brent Mydland, dead 19 years today. A sweet, doomed genius he was, who could only speak in music.
Could he ever speak in music. Enjoy!
Brent Mydland takes us to church- Blow Away from WooklifeSANITY on Vimeo.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Sean P. McQuade of York, ME. From his Silver Star citation,
Once again, despite heavy enemy fire, Captain McQuade quickly verified the location of all of his troops, and ordered the A-10 to drop ordnance on the enemy fighting positions. The fighting continued throughout the day. Around dusk the sniper, along with a heavy volume of small arms fire, began to accurately reengage the platoon. Captain McQuade then vectored a B-1 onto the new enemy targets. After dark an AC-l30 arrived, Captain McQuade identified enemy locations for the AC-l30 and with his Commander’s approval engaged the enemy positions and personnel that were attempting to exfil. Captain McQuade’s element soon gained fire superiority over the fleeting enemy forces. His ability to remain calm under fire and direct the CAS onto targets eliminated over 80 percent of the contact the platoon was taking during the 17-hour fight. Captain McQuade’s total disregard for his own personal safety, in order to suppress enemy fighting positions with the use of multiple CAS platforms, exemplifies what it means to be a combat leader. His valorous actions under intense enemy fire display his personal courage, his dedication to duty and his men. Captain McQuade’s actions were directly responsible for killing a key ACM Sub commander Habib Jan, whom Coalition Forces had been targeting for three years and had been responsible for multiple Coalition Force casualties. His actions also led to the destruction of Habib Jan’s ACM cell killing over 20 ACM fighters.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Tonight we did a review of This Week in Post Racial America. It was a sorry week for the country in my opinion. It’s not possible to do a winners and losers segment this week, as everyone involved in the Shirley Sherrod episode was a loser.
It was a great pleasure to welcome Stephanie Davis back to the studio for the full hour. She improved the conversation with some great insights and perspective.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-8pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Congratulations to the Herald for a GREAT front page story on John Forbes Kerry yesterday.
Sen. John Kerry skips town on sails tax
Sen. John Kerry, who has repeatedly voted to raise taxes while in Congress, dodged a whopping six-figure state tax bill on his new multimillion-dollar yacht by mooring her in Newport, R.I. Isabel – Kerry’s luxe, 76-foot New Zealand-built Friendship sloop with an Edwardian-style, glossy varnished teak interior, two VIP main cabins and a pilothouse fitted with a wet bar and cold wine storage – was designed by Rhode Island boat designer Ted Fontaine.
But instead of berthing the vessel in Nantucket, where the senator summers with the missus, Teresa Heinz, Isabel’s hailing port is listed as “Newport†on her stern. Could the reason be that the Ocean State repealed its Boat Sales and Use Tax back in 1993, making the tiny state to the south a haven – like the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Nassau – for tax-skirting luxury yacht owners?
Cash-strapped Massachusetts still collects a 6.25 percent sales tax and an annual excise tax on yachts. Sources say Isabel sold for something in the neighborhood of $7 million, meaning Kerry saved approximately $437,500 in sales tax and an annual excise tax of about $70,000.
This guy gives out of touch elitists a bad name. For all we criticized Ted Kennedy for, the one thing even his worst political enemies said about him was he was there for his constituents. Call his office and things happened. Call John Kerry, it’s like being sucked into a black hole. If that’s the case, then what exactly are we getting from John Kerry’s “service”? This guy doesn’t care about us peasants, never has and never will. In the words of a local football coach, it is what it is.
Is there a possibility that Massachusetts voters, in the Scott Brown era, will actually hold John Kerry accountable for being such a do-nothing jerk all these years? The night of Scott Brown’s election, while waiting for him to take the stage, the crowd erupted in a spontaneous chant, “John Kerry’s next, John Kerry’s next, John Kerry’s next”. It was great. Let’s hope so! A blue collar Senator Mike Capuano, who would work hard for his constituents, would be a huge improvement over John Forbes Kerry. Sure, we’ll get the same liberal voting record, but at least we won’t be insulted on a daily basis by the arrogance and snobbery of our senator. That would be a HUGE improvement and is definitely change I can believe in. Let’s send John Forbes Kerry to pasture so he can work on that tan of his!
Democrat Tax Cheat Champion Charlie Rangel is finally getting what has long been coming, a day of reckoning.
Ethics raps put Rangel on trial
WASHINGTON — Rep. Charles Rangel was slapped yesterday with charges of serious ethics violations — and faces a public trial in the House that could end with his expulsion after 40 years in office. The charges are the latest setback for the embattled 80-year-old dean of the state congressional delegation, who grudgingly relinquished his chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee in March after being admonished by the committee for going on a corporate-paid junket to the Caribbean. The secretive House Ethics Committee didn’t reveal which of the accusations leveled against the Harlem Democrat were included in the formal charges being brought against him.
New York Post columnist Charles Hurt on Above The Law Charlie,
If you’re wondering what’s that burning smell wafting from Harlem, it’s Charlie Rangel’s tail on fire.
And it can only get worse. Much worse. For a House member — a long-serving and powerful former committee chairman, no less — to be charged by a bipartisan panel of the House ethics committee is as rare as it is direly serious. That is because in Congress, both parties go to such extraordinary lengths to conceal the sins of their members. The last time it happened, the accused, Rep. James Traficant of Ohio, was expelled from Congress and went to jail.
Oh sure, I’m glad a corrupt arrogant politician like Rangel is getting what’s coming to him. But that is only one part of the collateral damage that Good Time Charlie will bring to his Democrat colleagues. Chuck Todd, NBC chief Washington correspondent, said on Softball last night that this could be the nail in the coffin for Democrats this election cycle, much like the Mark Foley ethics scandal was the final nail for Republicans in 2006. Let’s hope he’s right. Let’s also hope that San Fran Nan, Speaker of the House, and most powerful person in the world, according to Joe Biden, has to answer for the cesspool she oversees.
Here’s video from February of Nancy defending Charlie Rangel, and her promise to run “the most ethical Congress ever”.
Fresh off manning the grill at a campaign appearance at a Portuguese festival, Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker joined us for the first time last evening. We were limited on time, but were able to touch on a few key issues, like my favorite governor, New Jersey’s Chris Christie and his take no prisoners attitude. My first question, how much Chris Christie can we expect from Governor Baker? I liked what I heard. We also talked about the front page Globe article titled, Firms cancel health coverage: With cost rising, small companies turning to state. We hit the CNBC survey that touts Massachusetts as a great place to do business. Finally, I was able to give Charlie some free advice, if the Globe columnists are criticizing you for going down market on issues like immigration, it can only mean one thing, you are talking about issues that regular people care about deeply.
I hope to have Charlie back soon for a full segment where we can go a bit deeper on these issues and take more calls from the listeners as well.
The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.
Bruce McQuain from Blackfive joined us once again for Someone You Should Know, our weekly tribute to the troops. Bruce spent 28 years in the U.S. Army and he is a veteran of the Vietnam war. He brings a perspective and understanding to these stories that we could never match.
This week Bruce told us about Spc. Andrew Lamkin, a combat medic,
With another Soldier’s help, he dragged PV2 McCauley to a sector of the rooftop that seemed safer and less exposed. Upon reaching it, however, SPC Lamkin and his patient were immediately taken under heavy rifle and RPG fire from insurgent gunmen across the street. Without regard to his own safety, SPC Lamkin used his own body as a shield, and began to stabilize his seriously wounded comrade as withering fire raked the rooftop around him.
SPC Lamkin realized that PV2 McCauley was unconscious and choking on his own blood. He quickly opened the casualty’s airway using a “J-tube,†enabling him to breathe although he was unconscious. The enemy continued to hammer the rooftop with RPG and rifle fire, but Lamkin shielded PV2 McCauley’s body with his own. Securing the “J-tube†with 550-cord in order to move his patient, SPC Lamkin called for the evacuation vehicle.
Before he could evacuate the casualty, however, SPC Lamkin helped carry him over a four-foot high wall, under fire, and then down three flights of stairs to the evacuation vehicle – an impressive show of stamina and strength.
On the ground floor, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle tasked to evacuate PV2 McCauley backed up to the door. As the wounded Soldier’s squad placed him in the Bradley, SPC Lamkin continued to scan for insurgent fighters. He identified two that were repositioning to interdict the MEDEVAC vehicle, and killed them both with accurate rifle fire.
SPC Lamkin demonstrated his expert marksmanship, medical skills and conspicuous gallantry; he is truly the epitome of the combat medic.
The Someone You Should Know radio collaboration began as an extension of Matt Burden’s series at Blackfive. Bruce does an incredible job with the series every week. The Pundit Review Radio Podcast RSS feed can be found here.
What is Pundit Review Radio?
On Boston’s Talk Station WRKO since 2005, Pundit Review Radio is where the old media meets the new. Each week we give voice to the work of the most influential leaders in the new media/citizen journalist revolution. Called “groundbreaking” by Talkers Magazine, this unique show brings the best of the blogs to the radio every Sunday evening from 6-9pm on AM680 WRKO, Boston’s Talk Station.