crackedmachine

This morning, the senate attempted to add a provision to the pending "carte blanche on detaining and abusing 'enemy combatants'" bill. The provision would have removed the portion of legislation that denies the accused their basic Habeas Corpus rights. It would have made it possible for federal courts to review the legitimacy of the detainment of individuals suspected of terrorist involvement. Unfortunately, the amendment lost 51-48. Instead, the bill will be considered in its complete, ill-conceived form, granting the state the authority to detain prisoners indefinitely without charging them with a crime, while granting the accused no right to review and challenge the evidence (or lack thereof) against them. There is simply no protection for people wrongly detained because of poor information or mistaken identity, despite that fact that it happens.


Look at the votes for the amendment, and how strikingly they follow party lines. Republicans count on the public to be really stupid, and they will actually use this in their campaigns in the next few weeks. They count on the masses to interpret this bill not as an infringement on basic rights, but as protection from the ever-present threat of terror. Good Christ. They seem to be right. Most people apparently buy that shit. All of the
YEAs will be labeled supporters and appeasers of terrorists. All of the NAYs will be called strong on national security.


The full, terrible bill, allowing indefinite imprisonment of anyone the state wishes to detain with no regard for guilt or innocence will most likely pass later today.

The lawmakers who support this bill are practically bragging about their leniency towards torture and disregard for the rights of individuals against arbitrary state abuse. If they are reelected in November, we will have evidence that a good portion of U.S. citizens are ignorant, hateful, indifferent, or some combination of these.



http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00255#position



YEAs ---48

Akaka (D-HI)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Boxer (D-CA)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Carper (D-DE)
Chafee (R-RI)
Clinton (D-NY)
Conrad (D-ND)
Dayton (D-MN)
Dodd (D-CT)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Durbin (D-IL)
Feingold (D-WI)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Harkin (D-IA)
Inouye (D-HI)
Jeffords (I-VT)
Johnson (D-SD)
Kennedy (D-MA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Kohl (D-WI)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Sarbanes (D-MD)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Specter (R-PA)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sununu (R-NH)
Wyden (D-OR)


NAYs ---51

Alexander (R-TN)
Allard (R-CO)
Allen (R-VA)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burns (R-MT)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
DeWine (R-OH)
Dole (R-NC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Frist (R-TN)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lott (R-MS)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Nelson (D-NE)
Roberts (R-KS)
Santorum (R-PA)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Stevens (R-AK)
Talent (R-MO)
Thomas (R-WY)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)


Not Voting - 1

Snowe (R-ME)

Now for a couple songs to make everyone feel better. A lot of great music has come out of Brazil. Abuso Sonoro fits the current mood. Here are a couple of songs from the raging album Herencia, put out by Six Weeks.

Resistiremos
Guerrilhas

Terror Alert!

Vigilant employees of a Wal-Mart in Tuscola County, Michigan helped nab three Texans of Middle Easten descent who were in possession of a suspicous crapload of cell phones and some photographs of the scenic Mackinac Bridge.

That’s right: Middle Eastern ancestry; cell phones; photographs of a tourist attraction. Any Tuscolan worth his weight in sugar beets will recognize three strikes here. Lock ‘em up!

Yet, in spite of all this damning evidence, it appears that no crime has been committed, and no such intent existed.

Let’s all hope that the Tuscola prosecutor gives up on this bullshit very soon.

Today the Sagniaw News had a story that was reasonably fair and responsible...quite uncharacteristic of the coverage I have seen so far:

Three Texas men of Middle Eastern descent remained jailed this morning on terrorism-related charges in Tuscola County after federal officials said Monday the trio broke no laws and had no links to known terrorist organizations.

Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark E. Reene did not respond to repeated messages from The Saginaw News.

A jail guard said the trio -- brothers Adham A. Othman, 21, of Dallas and Louai A. Othman, 23, of Mesquite, Texas, and their cousin, Maruan A. Muhareb, 18, also of Mesquite -- remained behind bars waiting for a Friday pretrial hearing on state charges of collecting material to support terrorist acts and surveillance of a vulnerable target, the Mackinac Bridge, with intent to commit terrorism.

Read more here.

August 17 Update: It appears that Prosecutor Mark E. Reene asked a judge yesterday to dismiss terrorism-related charges.

Instead, the three men are accused of defrauding consumers with counterfeit cellphones, and will face charges. It appears the men are no longer wrongly accused of being terrorists, but authorities have found alternative accusations.

I grew up in a college town that didn’t have a whole lot happening. I spent a lot of time escaping into the surrounding rural areas or not-too-distant bigger cities. However, I was lucky to enjoy occasional periods of cultural fortune in my town.

The cultural amenities of East Lansing seem to have been planned to minimize one’s chance of encountering anything interesting. It was the place to go to find a Kinkade print. When the autumn semester at the university was starting, I would hear kids new to the town proclaiming their relief that their new home was not without a Taco Bell. “Oh, thank god for something reliably familiar.” Fittingly, most of the bars were very similar to one another, catering to lovers of all that is bland and easily recognizable. If there was live music, it was assuredly classic rock and Top 40 covers, terrible jam bands (e.g. Ekoostik Hookah), or the most dismal of oh-so-fucking-shitty slap-bass fueled “funk”.

Underneath all of this, though, much better things were happening. There was a lot of shit to be sure, and the good was few and far between, but at least there was something. Perhaps because Lansing was an easy stop between Detroit and Chicago, or because the university was home to a handful of worthwhile people (those who were neither aspiring capitalist fuehrers in business school, nor aspiring K Street republicans denied admission to Liberty University), or because the embers of the Mid-&South-Michigan 80s punk scene refused to fully extinguish, we had the privilege of some great local music. Bands were relegated to playing in basements mostly…but that was the most fun place to be, so who’s complaining. Bands from no more than a few miles away playing house parties on weekends…Laughing Hyenas, El Smasho, Bantam Rooster, Gravitar, Down, The Actionaries, Chinese Millionaires, Mule…these are the bands whose names you would see on tiny flyers, above an address in the worst of college housing and an admonition to bring your own 40.

This is all just a bit of background on my personal affinity for Mule. They were possibly the best band to descend semi-regularly into East Lansing basements. But they were so much better than that. They were a legitimately great band. You shouldn’t need a sentimental reason to like them.

Mule comprised former members of Laughing Hyenas and Wig, and for a time counted ex-Watusi Jim Kimball as drummer. Kimball would go on to fame and fortune during the Jesus Lizard’s major label sunset years. Since the sad demise of Mule, P.W. Long has gone on as one hell of a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His albums are available from Touch and Go. You can’t go wrong with We Didn’t See You on Sunday (1997) or Remembered (2003). These sound almost nothing like Mule, but are just as good.

These tracks are from their self-titled 1992 debut. You should really buy every Mule record you can find. There unfortunately aren’t that many. If ever I get to making mp3s of vinyl, I will be sure to post their first 7”, along with Wig’s Just Obscene 7”.

Mississippi Breaks
Lucky

And I’ll throw in a track from Laughing Hyenas’ 1989 You Can’t Pray A Lie, possibly my favorite record ever (probably not quite, but it’s up there).

Desolate Son

I am about to get off to a bad start. One should always share his or her most loathsome trait first. Keep expectations very, very low. I am a sucker for some 70s soft rock. While much of it falls somewhere between boring and godawful, there are also some really shiny gems. Popular ones even…I’m not talking about obscure, private-press record collector shit. I am talking about, say, Air Supply, Boz Scaggs, Fleetwood Mac. Records you should be able to find for less than a dollar at Goodwill (after sorting through many weird but typically uninteresting Christian records). With the exception of Scaggs’ stirring Lido Shuffle, it is typically the more melancholy numbers that are most magical. Without You is certainly one of my favorites. Harry Nilsson did not write it, although his version is perhaps most highly regarded. Badfinger are the geniuses behind this scorching motherfucker. I would love to post Nilsson’s impassioned version of Without You from Nilsson Schmilsson, but have not yet made the effort to transfer vinyl to mp3. This is the same reason that you will not find any highlights from Scaggs’ Silk Degrees here. Maybe someday.

So, that leaves us with a more modern performance. Bobby Conn: a man within whom greatness resides, but who sometimes likes to mix things up with some less gratifying offerings. I assure you, though, that Without You is a success. Fuck yeah it’s great. If you like it, please seek out Llovessongs on Thrill Jockey (including an additional cover of the wonderful Caetano Veloso’s Maria B). I also recommend 1998’s Rise Up, on Thrill Jockey, but again, my copy is on vinyl, so I’m not posting a sample.

Finally, I have included the first Conn song I heard, many years ago: Never Get Ahead. If you haven’t heard it before, please listen. Brilliant. This song reminds me of seeing Conn at Detroit’s Gold Dollar, now sadly closed, but one of the best venues I’ve had the pleasure of visiting.

As a bonus, here is a link to Nilsson performing Without You:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cad1z67082E

Seriously, Harry Nilsson was a great performer.