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…
Festival Drug Raid Teaches Children Important Lesson
An August 1 drug raid during the Church of Universal Love and Music‘s Funk Fest resulted in the arrests of 23 people and the seizure of marijuana, hash brownies, hallucinogenic mushrooms, LSD, nitrous oxide, other prohibited substances, and drug paraphernalia. Dumpstaphunk was bringing the dirty funk on the day police swarmed the festival grounds in Bullskin Township, Pennsylvania….
Disco Biscuits’ Marc Brownstein On Live-Music Crisis
Disco Biscuits bassist (and HeadCount co-founder) Marc Brownstein weighs in on the status of the concert business – imploding or not? – in a letter forwarded to email subscribers to Bob Lefsetz’s popular music-industry blog, The Lefsetz Letter. Brownstein says advance Bisco sales are down while day-of-show sales are way up, because ticket buyers don’t…
New Radiohead Single Celebrates Pacifist WWI Vet Harry Patch
Radiohead’s new single, “Harry Patch (In Memory Of)” was written in honor of the United Kingdom’s final veteran of World War I, who died in July at the age of 111. As Thom Yorke explains on the band’s website, where it can be downloaded, the stately and somber tune reflects Patch’s pacifist beliefs. Proceeds from…
Alumna Blues
According to CNN, a recent IT graduate of New York’s Monroe College is suing the institution for $72,000 – her entire tuition plus $2,000 – because, she claims, Monroe’s “Office of Career Advancement did not help me with a full-time job placement. I am also suing them because of the stress I have been going…
Woodstock Politics
David Fricke bemoans the lack of politics at the 1969 Woodstock Music & Art Fair in his Rolling Stone review of Woodstock – 40 Years On: Back to Yasgur’s Farm, a six-CD attempt to document all 32 performances heard during that August weekend, in the order in which they were presented: That exchange [when Who…
Art, Music, Fans Connect At Red Rocks Mock Show
Last Saturday at a hotel six miles from Red Rocks Amphitheatre, where Phish was playing for four nights, more than 20 artists and hundreds of art lovers and collectors gathered for Mock Show, a poster and art showcase-marketplace. Held in the Sheraton Denver West Hotel’s ballroom, the Mock Show was an art lovers dream that…