HeadCount Blog

By Josh Gelfand

The Democrats now have the filibuster-proof majority they’ve been hoping for, at least on paper. Today the Minnesota Supreme Court decided unanimously to declare Al Franken the winner of the long-contested Senate seat. The Court determined that incumbent Norm Coleman did not have the grounds to dispute the election, and they recommended that Franken be seated.

Coleman conceded, even though he had the opportunity to seek a federal injunction. Governor Tim Pawlenty said he would sign the certification to seat Franken today.

With the two Senate independents – Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut – that usually caucus with the Dems, it looks as though they will have the necessary 60 votes necessary to block Republican filibusters. The Dems have been challenged by the absences of senators Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd, who’ve been ill.

Franken cannot be seated until next week because the Senate is out of session for a long Fourth of July weekend.

By Richard Gehr

In 2004, Marjane Satrapi published Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood, a graphic autobiography about her family’s experience during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when the Shah of Iran was overthrown (with the help of the US government). The new regime turned out to be even more repressive than the previous one, so her parents sent Satrapi to Austria, where she experienced both an awakening and an emotional breakdown. (Satrapi faithfully translated her gorgeous book into an equally elegant 2007 movie.)

Last week two Iranian expatriates known as Sina and Payman published a “remixed” version of Satrapi’s work, with the author’s permission, as a website. Persepolis 2.0 uses Satrapi’s images, with new words, to recount Iran’s June 12 election and its violent aftermath. It begins with the optimism of election day and ends with the June 20 shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan, the iconic martyr of the Iranian opposition. Widely translated and distributed – via email, Facebook, and Twitter – Persepolis 2.0 has become one of the more prominent expressions of disgust at the rigged election.

In an interview in today’s Guardian, Sina said: “I’ve read some comments online from people angry that we ‘ruined’ Satrapi’s work or unhappy with the poor quality of the copy. Their opinions are valid, but our point was just to get people to discuss Iran so that it didn’t slip back into collective obscurity.

“Satrapi’s novels are about her life, but to my generation of Iranians (at least in the west) they have become more than that: they have become iconic. The fact that images from 30 years ago can tell a story about what is happening now makes them all the more powerful.”

By Josh Gelfand

Leave it to those crazy Oregonians to step up and pass a definitive industrial-hemp legalization bill. Yesterday the Oregon House passed SB 676 by a vote of 46-11. It will allow production and possession of industrial hemp along with trade in industrial hemp commodities and products.

Oregon is now the ninth state to pass such a law. It joins Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia in regulating hemp farming under state law.

The Hemp Industries Association pegged last year’s retail sales of all hemp products in North America at $360 million. Allowing U.S. farmers to grow and process the diverse, profitable, and eco-friendly crop will help decrease imports and increase domestic production and exports, thereby narrowing the trade gap.

The “Billion Dollar Crop” heralded by Popular Mechanics magazine in 1927 can finally live up to its potential. Hemp has been illegal to grow in the U.S. for more than 50 years because of misinformation and politicization by the Drug Enforcement Agency, along with competitive business pressures from the pharmaceutical, paper, and synthetic-fiber industries.

For information on what’s happening in your state, check out Vote Hemp

By Josh Gelfand

Leave it to Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman to speak truth to power, even if the power in question lost narrowly in the House last week. Krugman’s Monday New York Times column called out the 212 dissenting voters of the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill:

“A handful of these no votes came from representatives who considered the bill too weak, but most rejected the bill because they rejected the whole notion that we have to do something about greenhouse gases.

“And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn’t help thinking that I was watching a form of treason — treason against the planet.”

Krugman is not alone in understanding that the issue of climate change is not simply about the environment but about the global economy as well. Economic recovery can only succeed by focusing on sustainable economic forces, and ignoring the effects of climate change will inevitably lead to worldwide economic disaster.

Can you imagine a summer music festival in 115-degree heat? Disastrous summer heat waves will become the norm if we don’t act fast and aggressively – and no one wants to dance in that kind of weather.

Don’t get me wrong. While this bill is an important step in launching a carbon-regulation market, it leaves a lot to be desired. Most analysts believe it will not be nearly aggressive enough to make the necessary impact. While virtually any bill that sets out to regulate carbon is better than no bill at all, this one attaches some very questionable components. For example, Waxman-Markey gives free permits to the biggest emitters rather than auctioning off the permits to raise revenue and offset any potential energy cost increases. Without putting a proper price on permits, this could devalue carbon as opposed to driving up the price, which would directly encourage cuts in emissions.

Unfortunately, considering all the issues the Obama administration is currently dealing with, from health care to Iran to celebrity deaths, there wasn’t the grassroots push necessary to strengthen the bill. This led to a watering down in order to get some of the more fossil fuel-loving Dems on board.

Still, it’s a start. With Waxman-Markey as a foundation, we can begin regulating carbon as the enemy pollutant it is, which opens the door for bolstering regulation down the road.

Let your senators know how important it is that they pass this bill. It’s never too late for a grassroots push. Remind them that not taking action now is a crime against country and planet. As Merl Saunders said, “Save the planet so we have somewhere to boogie!”

I’m not an expert on Malaysian politics. But I was fascinated by this Malaysian Insider article about the voting inclinations of young underground metal, punk, and ska musicians who play their music – and express their views – in this country of 10 million Muslims (about 50 percent of the population).

Khairuddin Aziz, a guitarist with the straight-edge hardcore band Second Combat, believes that the younger generation of “tweeters” will not swallow whole the mainstream media’s vilification of PAS [Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, a popular opposition party to the ruling National Front coalition].

He believes they are more than capable of making their own judgement.

“I think it would be better than it is now if PAS rules the country. At least there wouldn’t be any corruption,” he told The Malaysian Insider.

His remark is something which would have been unheard of just a few years ago. Many in the underground music scene regard PAS as the enemy instead of BN [Barisian Nacional, AKA National Front, the nation's ruling party], as the Islamist conservatives is considered a threat to their way of lives.

“Go for the lesser evil,” said political science graduate and bass player for Komplot, Haekal Talib on the growing antipathy some young urban Malay voters may feel towards Umno [United Malays National Organisation, the nation's largest party], the party of their fathers.

In the July issue of Relix magazine, Dave Matthews explained the lyrics to “Dive In,” an apocalyptic warning from the band’s month-old Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King: “It’s talking about the future of our planet, but in a very lilting, light hearted way,” Matthews said. “The gravity of the topic sort of sneaks up a little bit. If you think this song sounds light, you need to listen a little harder. It’s the end of the fucking world, that song!”

Matthews is no doubt speaking about global warming and climate change. So what are Matthews, his band, and their fans doing about it?

A recent DMB email blast introduced the Bama Green Project, a group of green initiatives the band has taken on. The Bama Green Project is a partnership with Reverb (founded by Adam Gardner of Guster and his wife, Lauren Sullivan, to promote environmental sustainability among musicians and their fans) and IZSTYLE (an environmentally conscious music, sports, and design project founded by DMB bassist Stefan Lessard).

DMB has also teamed up with Collective Good, a cell-phone recycling organization. Fans who recycle their phones become eligible for free merch from the DMB’s store at Music Today.

Likewise, with every purchase of Dave Matthews-designed vegan-friendly kicks, TOMS shoes will donate a pair to a needy child.

The Bama Green Project’s other partners include:

* HeadCount

* Honest Tea: The nation’s top-selling organic bottled tea company is on the road with DMB this summer to help green the tour while hydrating fans.

* Specialized bicycles: Riding a bike is greener than a car in more ways than one.

* ClimateCounts: A nonprofit consumer-awareness organization that helps consumers buy the most eco-friendly products possible.

* The Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance: promoting sustainable biodiesel practices.

* PickupPal: This free online carpool service delivers economic value while contributing toward the reduction of carbon emissions caused by ground transportation.

* NativeEnergy: With significant ownership by Native American tribes, this wind farm-building organization fights global warming while creating new sustainable communities.

Other than the occasional rumor about Phish performing Thriller some Halloween or other, the late Michael Jackson never made much of an impact on the improv-rock scene. His tightly knit arrangements and intricately choreographed stage presence never quite fit improv-rock’s looser and bluesier bent. But, man, could that cat – and his four brothers – deliver the fireworks onstage, as I learned during an utterly mind-blowing show at the Los Angeles Forum during the Jacksons’ Triumph tour in 1981. As this weird clip taken from a video mixing board shows, among his other talents, Michael Jackson was also a master of the tease.

I’ve never been the world’s biggest (or smallest) Jimmy Buffett fan. But I certainly respect his respect for his fans as well as his unabashedly hedonistic outlook. Surprisingly, Buffett comes out swinging against the powers that be on “A Lot to Drink About,” an unrecorded new song he did not perform at Bonnaroo last week (although he did open with “Let’s Get Drunk and Screw” and later covered “Scarlet Begonias”).

I like “A Lot to Drink About,” which Buffett debuted at the original Margaritaville in February. It’s basically a topical country and Western tune with references to Ponzi schemers both in and out of the White House:

Now Madoff made off with all the money.
Now his clients are down to skunk weed.
Repeat after me, it’s so easy to see
We’re only talking simple greed.
And those Somalian pirates are counting all the gold.
While Bush and Cheney ain’t around
and all the good lookers seem to be Czech hookers
from Key West to London town.

God bless America, indeed. Meanwhile, Buffett’s new single, “Summerzcool,” also has a bit of a bite:

You messed up you read the paper
You accidentally watched the news
You inadvertently find yourself in the vicinity of the blues

Bust your ass to get a good life
You make a habit out of overtime
When the big report card comes
Your priorities are way out of line

Chorus:
You need to go to summer school
Into the beach or at least in a pool
Time to go to summer school
Remember what is and what is not cool

The Boston Globe recently spoke with Buffett about his newfound sense of indignation:

Q. You haven’t been afraid to let loose lately about the state of the country. What’s up with that?

A. There’s a lot of stupidity going around on all sides. The country bought it all, and I thought people needed to be reminded about how stupid they were. And it’s an ongoing saga. I can certainly put more verses in “A Lot to Drink About’’ as we go along. For instance, I noticed that the schools are closing in Los Angeles, but the Lakers were just given a parade. There’s no end to the crazy things going on.

Q. Did you get swept up in the Madoff scandal yourself?

A. No, it all smelled like a rat in the beginning. I guess I’ve worked with so many crooked promoters that I can smell ’em. Money made on moving money around never interested me.

In November 2001, the sounds of rubabs, dutars, and other musical instruments were heard in the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, for the first time since the Taliban’s draconian regulations were installed in 1996. The Taliban, through its Ministry of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, had been arresting musicians, destroying instruments, shredding tapes, smashing VCRs, and preventing both private and public musical performances. Their justification? Muhammed’s threat that, “Those who listen to music and songs in this world, on the Day of Judgment, molten lead will be poured into their ears.”

When I wrote about the Taliban’s battle against most music in the Village Voice, the Northern Alliance had recently marched into Kabul to roust the fundies. Unfortunately, the Taliban’s currently back to its old wickedness in Pakistan, where a new generation of young performers, and their families, are being targeted. The popular young Pashtun singer Zeek Afridi, for example, is being harassed via text messages, according to Radio Liberty.

Zeek’s big hit is “Khyber Zalmi,” whose 70-year-old lyrics celebrate patriotic “brave youth” opposing those with “bad intentions.” The “Khyber Zalmi” video juxtaposes a sentimental melody sung by earnest young men bearing machine guns.

Freemuse, an online journal devoted to “freedom of musical expression,” regularly reports on other examples of music censorship in Pakistan and elsewhere. In April, Taliban members shaved the heads and mustaches of four men in Buner (near Islamabad) for listening to music. The same month, the Lahore High Court banned songs by Lahore singers Naseebo Lal and Nooro Lal, deeming them “indecent, immoral” and “against the values of a Muslim society.” As Zeek Afridi told Radio Liberty, “We are all at risk.”

By Lisa Shanken

Finding healthy vegetarian food at Bonnaroo is like finding a clean Porta-Potty. It’s there, but you have to look for it.

This year marked my first Bonnaroo experience, and I had very high expectations given all the rave reviews I’ve heard from friends. Being a vegetarian and a nutritionist, I’m always a little leery about finding healthy food options at music festivals. Having been to many festivals over the past several years, however, I can say they’ve come a long way. And with Bonnaroo’s reputation as the mac daddy of all music festivals, I felt pretty confident that satisfying my healthy diet wouldn’t prove too challenging.

The music, the vibe, the organization, the people, and the energy all lived up to my high expectations. The food at the festival didn’t exactly shatter my original confidence, but dishes that were both healthy and satisfying to the palate took a lot of scoping out on the 750-acre site. The most abundant options were the festival circuit’s typical food vendors whom I always avoid, such as Spicy Pizza and Zorba the Greek.

My biggest complaints about the above vendors and the majority of the food at Bonnaroo are the grease factor and the lack of actual vegetables. Too many of the fries, pizza, stir frys, and gyros offer grease as their core ingredient. Grease is definitely not ideal for a camping situation or to supply good energy for dancing into the wee hours of the night – not to mention emergency trips to the dreaded Porta-Potties.

And here’s a question for Bonnaroo: Why, oh why, are there so many corndog vendors? Is the demand really so high that these vendors can generate a profit selling them? Were the ones advertising “Veggie Corn Dogs” identifying some previously unknown meat-free market?

But I digress. There were definitely a few good options worth mentioning if you knew where to find them. ¡Que Quesadilla! was notable. While they were a bit pricey at $9 a pop, their black bean, pesto, and roasted red pepper quesadillas were a staple of my weekend. The locally grown, all-natural flatbread pizza, made in an onsite brick oven, was both delicious and I really enjoyed the many vegetable toppings they offered.

The mini Whole Foods markets were a nice touch for healthy snack options, but didn’t really help if you were looking for a full, satisfying meal.

The best meal I ate at Bonnaroo was from Bearly Edible. It was by far the least greasy, most vegetable-filled dish I ate all weekend. They offered a quesadilla with feta, artichokes, spinach and olives, and it was truly more “restaurant quality” than anything else I found.

This weekend, I also tried an interesting snack called raw chocolate. I’d previously heard about raw chocolate in nutrition circles because dark chocolate (so long it contains more than 70% cacao) packs a powerful punch of healthy antioxidants. But raw chocolate is even healthier and claims to give you an energy boost. I don’t like caffeine, but after a long discussion with the vendor, I decided to give it a try because he promised the energy boost would be much more even and natural than caffeine. Plus, it’s well-packed nutritionally, which I really needed. I’m happy to report that it lived up to the vendor’s hype, and the addition of nuts and coconut added even more flavor.

All in all, Bonnaroo is an amazing weekend I highly recommend experiencing at least once. From what I’ve heard, they improve it every year, so I hope next year they lower the corndog and grease ratio, and round out the food selection with some healthier, non-greasy options featuring more vegetables.

Lisa Shanken is a nutritionist, culinary teacher and mother. Her insights can be found at HealthyMealPlanning.com