Jim Dickinson 1941-2009
Legendary musician-producer James Luther “Jim” Dickinson died Saturday morning while recuperating from heart surgery. Among numerous other accomplishments, Dickinson was the father of Luther and Cody Dickinson, two-thirds of HeadCount partners the North Mississippi Allstars. Dickinson’s band the Dixie Flyers supported Aretha Franklin and numerous other Atlantic Records artists four decades ago, and that’s his…
Keeping The Public Option Open – Or Not
The “public option” linchpin of President Obama’s healthcare-reform plan appears to be slipping away by the hour. Obama – who while running for office said, “I happen to be a supporter of single player universal health care” – seems on the verge of abandoning a Medicare-like alternative to private insurance companies. During his Saturday town-hall-like…
Afghan Singer Urges Youth to Vote
For the past week or so, National Public Radio has been covering the upcoming election in Afghanistan. The station sent Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne to the country to do in depth coverage of the election, from interviewing candidates to discusssing the security situation with top U.S. Military officicals. Yesterday morning, the station aired a great story about an Afghani singer. Farhad Darya…
Exxon Gets Flipped the Bird
Oil giant Exxon Mobil has plead guilty to accusations of killing over 85 protected birds including waterfowl, hawks, and owls in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act according to the Department of Justice. Under the plea agreement reached yesterday with DOJ, the company will pay $600,000, as well as make changes to prevent related deaths…
Musicians Speak Out About Festival Raid
Michael “Clip” Paine of Parliament Funkadelic and friends give their perspectives of the drug task force raid that took place at the Universal Church of Love and Music’s Funk Fest in Acme, PA. What do you think about the raid? Let us know by leaving some comments!
What Would You Say? – Boyd Tinsley meets Obama
With about six weeks left on its extensive 2009 summer tour in support of Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, (it officially began May 27 and wraps up at Austin City Limits music festival on October 3) the Dave Matthews Band’s violinist Boyd Tinsley found time to meet President Obama at a rally in Virginia last week. Fan-friendly owner…
Marijuana May Kill You… If You Need an Organ Transplant
A Hawaii woman diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver, chronic hepatitis infection, and end-stage kidney disease died after being denied a liver transplant by her insurance company, Hawaii Medical Service Association, because trace amounts of THC were found in her body. Her attorney explains: Kimberly Reyes was twice denied a transplant by HMSA for “technical…
Financial Aid for Drug Offenders
Eleven years ago, congress enacted the HEA Aid Elimination Penalty, a law that denies federal financial aid to students with drug convictions. Since that time, over 200,000 students have lost their aid. California Congressman George Miller (D) has recently introduced a bill that would repeal the penalty. It is expected to pass the House. The…
Why Did I Actually Have to Work Last Thursday Morning? (or: how a politically-based tech attack shut down MY social networking)
In an interview with the Guardian, a Georgian blogger known as Cyxymu says the Russian government is responsible for last Thursday’s denial-of-service disruptions on several popular social networking sites that left hundreds of millions of web users worldwide with a largely smaller connection to those around them. Countless others have reported being bored to tears…
Obama taps music industry to encourage community service
The White House earlier this summer announced the United We Serve campaign, an ambitious project aimed at inspiring people to become involved in community service while also promoting economic recovery. Recognizing that music has the power to move millions, President Barack Obama turned to the music industry to take a lead role in building momentum…