The Meters - Stormy

Pioneering New Orleans funksters when they were in a contemplative mood.

Krugman on Medicaid and its Enemies

As usual, it's not really complicated: it works pretty well but that success doesn't fit the conservative narrative. Professor K explains.

Why, then, are Republicans so determined to do the reverse, and kill this success story? You know the answers. Partly it’s their general hostility to anything that helps the 47 percent — those Americans whom they consider moochers who need to be taught self-reliance. Partly it’s the fact that Medicaid’s success is a reproach to their antigovernment ideology.

Whedon On Romney

Joss Whedon is one of the best-known TV/movie writers of the last twenty years. Here he offers his endorsement in the presidential race. H/t Josh Marshall @ TPM.

Leonard Cohen - The Faith (Cover)

A prayer. Not sure who the singer is, but these heartfelt cover versions are, for me, the best thing about YouTube.

John Lennon & Yoko Ono - I'm Losing You/I'm Moving On

A double song: first John, then Yoko.

Friday the 13th (Original Version, 1980) Trailer

I got nothing, so let's look at...this! Today is Friday the double thirteenth! And it's almost Halloween! So...something.

Muddy Waters - Bus Driver

RIP Steve Paul, whose record company helped to revive Muddy's career in the late seventies. H/t JLT.

Holland-Dozier-Holland

Extremely influential songwriting/producing team at Motown in the sixties.

Ships, Horses, Bayonets

Sure, you've probably seen it before, but still...

Krugman on the Slow Recovery and Its Causes

Krugman is...ah, just read it.

Why is recovery from a financial crisis slow? Financial crises are preceded by credit bubbles; when those bubbles burst, many families and/or companies are left with high levels of debt, which force them to slash their spending. This slashed spending, in turn, depresses the economy as a whole.

And the usual response to recession, cutting interest rates to encourage spending, isn’t adequate. Many families simply can’t spend more, and interest rates can be cut only so far — namely, to zero but not below.

Does this mean that nothing can be done to avoid a protracted slump after a financial crisis? No, it just means that you have to do more than just cut interest rates. In particular, what the economy really needs after a financial crisis is a temporary increase in government spending, to sustain employment while the private sector repairs its balance sheet.

Monte Montgomery - Little Wing

I just heard about this guy last night. Quite the technique he has. The recording quality is rough, but you can tell what's going on.

Kris Kristofferson - Casey's Last Ride

Sorrow and misery. From Kristofferson's first album. A tad overproduced, but whaddayagonnado.

Robyn Hitchcock - My Wife and My Dead Wife

Sort of appropriate to the approaching Halloween season.

Newsweek to Cease Print Publication

Presented as another example of the evolving media landscape, and thus in our world the cultural landscape. Newsstand copies of Newsweek appeared for nearly eighty years. When something that seemed to be a permanent fixture of American life disappears, it's worth noting. From the LA Times:

Newsweek's announcement marks a significant transition for the magazine, which was founded in 1933 and has been undergoing its own identity crisis and financial turmoil in recent years. Its problems are emblematic of the disruptions faced broadly by the print media industry, as readers shift online and away from the most valuable advertising. 

Beaver & Krause - Walking Green Algae Blues

From the In a Wild Sanctuary album, 1970. 

Crazy Horse - Beggar's Day

Just an old song I've had in my head. I hadn't realized that it had been covered by Nazareth and is now much better known in that version.

Krugman on Death by Neglect

I'm trying to post less often to Krugman, not because he's not good, but because it can make the entries here sort of lopsided, so to speak, if there are too many linking to him. But this one is too good to pass up:

So there’s no real question that lack of insurance is responsible for thousands, and probably tens of thousands, of excess deaths of Americans each year. But that’s not a fact Mr. Romney wants to admit, because he and his running mate want to repeal Obamacare and slash funding for Medicaid — actions that would take insurance away from some 45 million nonelderly Americans, causing thousands of people to suffer premature death. And their longer-term plans to convert Medicare into Vouchercare would deprive many seniors of adequate coverage, too, leading to still more unnecessary mortality.

Vi Hart - Doodling in Math Class: Infinity Elephants

This is cool. H/t Mark Sumner @ DailyKos.

Lonesome Sundown - My Home Is A Prison

Classic blues from the fifties.

The Rolling Stones - Doom And Gloom

Wow, a brand-new Rolling Stones song that doesn't suck. In fact, it's good.

Why Social Security and Medicare Are Still in Jeopardy

What Digby said:

I would just suggest that Peterson and his Masters of the Universe pals may not be quite as ingenuous about their "worries" as Yglesias imagines. It's true that's what they say. But Peterson and his friends were all for privatization, which would have the same economic effect on protecting living standards of the elderly at the expense of greater economic activity. So I'm just not convinced that old Pete is being entirely above board. But none of that changes the fact that this all based upon magical thinking. Peterson may be worried about his grand kids (insufferable privileged jerks that they are) but I suspect he's mostly worried about the fortune he's bequeathing them. 

And keep in mind that these people who are so convinced that these projections have been sent down from Mt Sinai are many of the same people who deny that climate change exists and are perfectly content to wait to see if the catastrophic droughts, famines and massive refugee crises actually develop.

The Yardbirds- Happenings Ten Years Time Ago

A touch more psychedelia.

Jimi Hendrix - Bold as Love

Lots of emotions in the air, so this song seemed appropriate.

Krugman on the BLS "Conspiracy"

It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but it was still kind of a shock, when a good monthly jobs report was immediately denounced as lies by leading Republicans. Krugman as usual provides a good overview.

If anyone had doubts about the madness that has spread through a large part of the American political spectrum, the reaction to Friday’s better-than expected report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics should have settled the issue. For the immediate response of many on the right — and we’re not just talking fringe figures — was to cry conspiracy.

Blind Willie McTell - Delia

Bob Dylan's version brings out the sadness a lot better, but he certainly knew this rendition, as well as the one by the Reverend Gary Davis. Delia's gone to the graveyard, but she ain't coming back.

Dylan Thomas - Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

The Rolling Stones - You Better Move On

A bunch of English kids covering an American rhythm and blues singer.

Dvorak, Slavonic Dance, op 46, no 4, Tempo di Menuetto

The debate was a big deal, but I honestly can't add much to what's being said elsewhere. I could link to Krugman again, but I do that all the time. So something else. This performance is piano only rather than full orchestra, but excellent.

Music Machine - Talk Talk

Big talk talk on the tube tonight. I will be watching and taking it seriously, but this song seemed at least somewhat appropriate. The introduction is by the late Dick Clark, and the clip is from his Where The Action Is show.

An Appreciation of Stephen Sondheim

A video from the NY Times; h/t JBD.

U2 - October

From 1981. Wonder whatever happened to these kids...