American Politics

Ryland Cooder has been around for ever. He’s played with everyone from the Monkees to the Rolling Stones, dug up more musical archeology than just about anyone other than the late Alan Lomax, introduced great musicians like the Buena Vista Social Club to the world and worked on classic films like Paris, Texas.

His musical career kicked off in the early 1960s playing with Taj Mahal and Ed Cassidy in a little band called Rising Sons, although their studio efforts weren’t released for about 30 years.

Albums, studio work (the highlight of which has to be playing on the Let It Bleed sessions when he provided mandolin on Love in Vain and slide on Sister Morphine) and some songwriting filled the coming years but after a long break from recording, Cooder stepped back into the limelight with a couple of sociological storybooks, Chavez Ravine and My Name is Buddy in 2005 and 2007.

Continue reading "Political commentary with an emphatic rhythm" »

Sad. Horrific. Tragic.

Three words that can be found instantaneously when reading or watching reports related to the Aurora theatre shooting that occurred in the early hours of Friday July 20th, where 12 were killed and at least 50 injured.

Thirteen years prior, only 15 miles away in Columbine, Americans were all too familiarly ‘shaken’ and ‘shocked’ by similar gun-related violence.

Continue reading "After Denver’s darkest night, time for a fresh gun debate" »

Reports of Ron Paul’s political demise have been greatly exaggerated and his tactical genius is becoming apparent as he gives Mitt Romney, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential candidate, a serious fright.

The curious Dr Paul, the only remaining challenger to Romney after Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich pulled out of the race, has been widely written off as a nuisance candidate after failing to win a single state in the caucus and primary race.

That has changed. The elderly Texas congressman has won the majority of delegates in Romney’s home state of Massachusetts, as well Maine and Nevada, even though Mitt Romney had supposedly “won” these states months earlier.

Continue reading "Reports of Ron Paul’s death are greatly exaggerated" »

It was the line that brokered the ceasefire of the century: “Let’s declare peace in this phony war and go back to focus on the substance.”

With that simple sentence came a halt in the so-called “mummy wars” between working and non-working mothers - just as a fresh bucket of kero had been dumped on the embers this month by campaigning US politicians and their media-savvy wives.

This olive branch was delivered by Democratic consultant and working mother Hilary Rosen by way of apology to Ann Romney, Republican candidate Mitt Romney’s wife and a stay-at-home mother to five. Rosen had controversially accused Mrs Romney of “not having worked a day in her life”. Naturally, an online skirmish followed, with plenty of publicity smart-bombs.

Continue reading "The Mummy Wars are over. They never actually existed." »

There’s a very thin line in picking winners at the horse races and on political election days, and the Americans must be eternally grateful Sarah Palin never did become that heartbeat away from the world’s top job.

Well some Americans, anyway.

Since Barack Obama was handed the keys to the White House, red neck America has been in full flight – not only is the President a Democrat, he’s a black Democrat. Let’s have a Tea Party, um, party, and see what we can do, cried the masses.

Continue reading "Sarah Palin: What almost happened was no game" »